The odd-even car formula has got a positive response from those who are directly dealing with it and are the ones most affected by the rising vehicular pollution. For a large number of Delhi traffic police personnel, the scheme has not only made their task easy in managing heavy vehicular movement, but has also given them a breather while dealing with morning and evening rush hours.
A section of traffic policemen had reservations about the scheme, but there are many who felt that the move could pay dividends in the longer run, provided proper public transport system was put in place across the city.
Buoyed by the outcome of the scheme, assistant sub-inspector Suresh Kumar, posted at the Barakhamba Road traffic intersection, wants it to be made a permanent feature as “maintaining traffic for him has become very easy” with commuters abiding by and in turn adopting the rule.
Mr Kumar, who is suffering from a throat infection, agrees that there has been a reduction in air pollution while pulling out his medicines to corroborate his illness, which he claims to be due to the alarming levels of pollution.
“Unlike regular office-goers working under a roof, we have to be on the streets the entire day and the pollution was sickening,” said an angry Mr Kumar almost running out of breath. “Yehkhansika problem abhitaknahigaya (My throat irritation hasn’t been cured as yet).”
Senior citizens, women, VIPs, two-wheelers and vehicles running on CNG are exempt from the scheme, but that did not stop the Chief Justice of India and his fellow judges, who are also exempt, from car-pooling it to the court. Several traffic police officials were also of the same mindset and want two-wheelers out of the exempt list as well.
“If bikes are made to follow the odd-even rule, so be it. We shall use the Metro or bus,” said constable Suresh Sethi at West Delhi’s Patel Nagar. “I have an odd-numbered car and in the past week I too followed the rule whenever I took it out.”
Having said that, MrSethi, a resident of East Delhi’s Yamuna Bank, does not hesitate to complain about the tremendous pollution and traffic in that area and argued that the government may have exaggerated on the pollution reduction quotient.
Suggesting other measures to reduce pollution and help boost the scheme’s success, MrSethi suggested improvement in public transport and cleaning up Delhi among steps such as reducing pollution from construction and closing down of the Badarpur thermal power plant, which became functional again.
Traffic police along with civil defence personnel, who are assisting in managing traffic and spreading awareness about the ill-effects of pollution at major traffic hotspots such as ITO and Chandni Chowk, were seen using masks to save themselves from getting affected by the toxic fumes emanating from vehicles.
Constable Prakash Kaushik at Chandni Chowk while admitting that his job has become easier in the area which otherwise is generally jam-packed, is apprehensive about the reduction in air pollution, which he says increases again after 8 pm. When asked about violators being challaned, Mr Kaushik strictly replied, “Initially, commuters were warned but now we challan each and every violator we manage to stop.”
Ram Vir Singh, another colleague of Mr Kaushik also posted at Chandni Chowk, outside the Old Delhi Railway Station, narrated an incident in Dwarka where he had stopped a violator just to make him aware of the rules, but instead the person forced the constable to challan him.
