he Aam Aadmi Party government observed its fourth installment of car-free day here on Friday even as it set in motion a plan to seek suggestions from the citizens of the Capital to make the initiative 'more interesting' in the future.
The government’s decision to observe the next car-free day at a currently undisclosed location in south Delhi on February 22 was also made.
Commencing at Delhi University’s (DU) north campus with a cycle rally, which was led by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, the visible plying of four-wheelers on the stretch between the Vishwavidyalaya metro station and the Chhatrasal Stadium prompted Mr. Sisodia to accuse the Delhi Police of ‘not making efforts to make the event a success’.
“I can see cars running on the car-free stretch, which means that the (Delhi) police is not effectively performing its duty of ensuring the success of the event,” Mr. Sisodia alleged even as he offered to ‘give’ them the credit for making the AAP government’s odd-even scheme a success.
“What will you get if this car-free day fails? If you think that by doing this you would get satisfied...we will not have any objection then. It is our responsibility to make Delhi pollution-free,” Mr. Sisodia said, adding that police personnel should step forward and ensure that the initiative is a success regardless of orders to the opposite from senior officials.
Mr. Sisodia’s remarks came moments after his Cabinet colleague and Transport Minister Gopal Rai revealed that he had, on the eve of the car-free day, received a communication from Special Commissioner of Police (traffic) Dr. Muktesh Chander stating that AAP volunteers “would not be allowed to manage traffic” during it.
“We are happy that the police has told us that volunteers will not be allowed to manage traffic. But, what will then be the sense of a car-free day if cars are allowed on stretches supposed to be out of bounds for them?” Mr, Rai asked.
Meanwhile, Mr. Sisodia asked Mr. Rai to ensure that future instances of the initiative were ‘more interesting’ prompting Mr. Rai to dedicate a helpline (9871215875) to seek ‘innovative suggestions’ via text message from Delhiites.
I can see cars running on the car-free stretch, which means that the police is not effectively performing its duty of ensuring the success of the event
Manish Sisodia,Deputy Chief Minister
Next car-free day will be observed in south Delhi on February 22, the stretch has not been finalised yet
