he real test of round two of the odd-even scheme will be on Monday, a full working day when all offices, schools and other institutions will reopen after a long weekend.
The second phase of the vehicle rationing scheme was rolled out on Friday, Ramnavami -- a public holiday, followed by the weekend. This had been cited as the main reason behind the slump in the number of cars plying on the roads.
With many Delhiites out of the city owing to the long weekend, traffic police officers said the real challenge will start from Monday. “We can gauge the real impact only on April 18, the first working day of the week,” said Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Sharad Aggarwal. He said more traffic cops will be deployed from Monday onwards.
Unlike the scheme’s first phase, when the focus was more on awareness and voluntary compliance, this time the government has cracked the whip on violators, with over 2,300 challans being issued in the first two days as against 479 during the same period in January.
Delhi Transport Minister Gopal Rai met senior police and transport department officials to discuss necessary arrangements to tackle the situation on Monday when only even-numbered vehicles, barring exempted categories, will ply on the roads.
Under the fortnight-long scheme, private cars having odd registration numbers can ply on odd dates and the even-numbered four-wheelers on even dates, except for certain exemptions, including VIPs, women, schoolchildren, medical emergencies, commercial vehicles and CNG cars.
The rules, whose violation attracts a penalty of Rs. 2,000 under provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, are applicable between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., except on Sundays.
In the second phase of the odd-even scheme from April 15-30, the government has added to its exemption list people driving with schoolchildren in uniform. However, it has not been able to suggest a solution to the problem of cars returning after dropping schoolchildren or heading towards the schools in the afternoon hours to pick up the children.
Unlike the scheme’s first phase, when the focus was more on awareness, this time over 2,300 challans have been issued in the first two days
