The recent smog crisis in Delhi has spurred the Karnataka government to declare one Sunday a month as a ‘less traffic day’ and encourage people to shun private transport on that day.
The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has decided to call the second Sunday of every month ‘Less traffic day’, beginning from February. People will be encouraged to voluntarily give up using private vehicles on that day. But, it’s not compulsory.
The city has 71.31 lakh registered vehicles, of which 64.36 lakh are privately owned. The number of yellow board vehicles in the city stands at 6,95,582, said Minister for Transport H.M. Revanna on Friday. He said the ‘Less traffic day’ will de-congest the city at least on one day and lead to healthier environment.
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A meeting with NGOs, the city Police Commissioner, the Mayor, and Karnataka State Pollution Control Board officials will be convened to chalk out a plan for the successful implementation of the scheme, the Minister said. “The programme’s success will depend on the cooperation from the public and commuters,” he added. The programme is on a campaign mode to ensure free movement of public vehicles on the day. The police will prevent charging of double meter and harassment of passengers by cab drivers.