The third car-free day observed in Delhi’s Vikas Marg on Tuesday starting at 8 am saw participation of thousands of people, including schoolchildren and women, with some confusion as DTC buses were not allowed on the stretch for some time.
It was only after an appeal by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia that buses were allowed to pass through the designated stretch helping in reducing commuters’ hassles on the route from laxmi Nagar Metro station to Poorva Sanskritik Kendra via Karkari Modh bridge.
The exercise — the first one on a weekday as Delhi Government gears up to roll out the odd-even restriction on the movement of cars — was aimed at encouraging people to use public transport in order to control air pollution.
Deputy CM Sisodia, who attended the event, rode on a bicycle and appealed to the people to take to bicycle-riding as a way of ensuring the success of the odd-even number scheme. “As pollution is increasing in Delhi, people should opt for public transport.
I appeal to the people of Delhi to make the odd-even number scheme a success,” said Sisodia.
However, the drive caused traffic jams at Anand Vihar, Karkari Morh and nearby areas. Traffic was also sluggish at ITO as entry of cars was restricted on the stretch between laxmi Nagar and Karkari Mor and diverted to other roads. Many commuters claimed they were not aware of the event and were left stranded. “Why is car-free day being organised on a working dayIJ” complained a commuter.
Even though the car-free day is being pitted as a voluntary exercise, many car-owners got into arguments with civil defense personnel and claimed that they were forced to divert their routes even though all other routes were chock-a-block.
While participating in the event, the Deputy CM also re-launched the Poocho app ahead of the launch of the odd-even scheme on January 1. The app will allow commuters to use their smartphones to book autos and taxis. It enables autorickshaws and taxis with GPS to connect to a common server. There are around 80,000 autorickshaws and 30,000 taxis plying in the Capital.
Sisodia said that people can call the number 9311900800 for any queries related to the functioning of the app. The next car-free day will be organised near Delhi University in north Delhi, Transport Minister Gopal Rai said at the event.
He further said on December 24, the CM -who was supposed to lead the cycle rally did not show up reportedly due to ill health - will hold a press conference to present the blueprint for the implementation of the odd-even number scheme.