Saturday, January 24, 2009
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com
The green bus service started in the historic Chandni Chowk, with the aim of decongesting the area and bringing about some semblance
on the roads, seems to have run into rough weather. Due to lack of enforcement, shared autos and cyclerickshaws continue to ply illegally on the main road making it difficult for the bus service to operate.
The chaos on the roads is also back. With motorised vehicles like cars, autos and two wheelers fighting for space with handcarts and cyclerickshaws, the narrow road has become congested. Add to this the unauthorised parking on either side which has further reduced the space for traffic. The operator of this service has now filed a complaint with the transport department laying out the problems faced in operation and sought corrective action.
"The main problem is that cyclerickshaws and shared autos ply on the same route as the buses even though they have been banned from doing so. We approached all the authorities but no action has been taken, perhaps because they have their own interests. It is getting so tough to operate the buses that we don't know how long the service can continue,'' said Kaushal Mehta of Chaudhary Transport Company, the bus operator.
At present, 28 buses run on the Red Fort-Fatehpuri route. The other route proposed by the government from Fountain Chowk to Red Fort via Fatehpuri was reportedly abandoned after the first month itself as one bus trip "took more than two hours because of the congestion''. The operator has also got two air-conditioned buses for tourist trips. However, these hardly ever run on the road. "The area is so congested that the ACs stop working during the jams. So they are just lying parked for the last few months,'' Mehta added.
Locals say that getting fleeced by autos is a major problem. "Autos want to ply shared trips on the bus routes by taking in 6-7 passengers at once and charging Rs 5 from all. No one is willing to take you out of the area as they make more money this way,'' said Sanjay Bhargava, general secretary of the Chandni Chowk traders association.
When the bus service was initiated in June 2007, the traffic police and Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) had been asked to decongest the area and also ensure that rickshaws and autos don't ply on short trips on the main road. The buses were introduced with the idea to make commuting on the congested stretch faster and more comfortable. This was done after a study by the Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) recommended buses for the area in place of thousands of cyclerickshaws.
The authorities had also been asked to remove encroachments, including police beat boxes, but no action has been taken on that. The traffic police claim that autorickshaws and even cyclerickshaws are regularly prosecuted and even impounded. "Strict action is taken against autorickshaws and we have caught numerous cyclerickshaws and handed them to MCD,'' said RK Pandey, DCP (traffic), northern range. The problem, sources said, is that since the rickshaws are owned by "influential people'', they are almost never crushed, which is the legal procedure for impounded cyclerickshaws. So they pay a measly fine and hit the roads again.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Drive carefully, cops to go into overdrive from Feb 1
Monday, January 19, 2009
Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Get ready to drive better from February 1. Delhi Police commissioner YS Dadwal, on Friday, announced that the traffic police are going to
start heavy prosecution for all road offences starting February 1.
"To bring about order on Delhi roads, the traffic police will start intensive challaning from February 1,'' said police commissioner YS Dadwal. To make this possible, the number of traffic patrol motor cycles is being doubled from the present 210 bikes to 420 bikes and 50 more Police Control Room (PCR) vans with traffic staff added to Delhi roads by February 15. The decision was taken after cops felt that the `chase and challan' scheme has proved to be an effective means of controlling road violations.
The police is now looking at an integration of traffic police and PCR units and a step forward towards this is the introduction of 50 more PCR vans on traffic duties. The main benefit, said Dadwal, is that all the vans are fitted with Global Positioning System (GPS) making their locations easy to track. So when they are needed to attend an emergency call, they can immediately be tracked at the control room and rushed to the scene of crime. For the rest of the time, they can serve as force multipliers for the traffic police.
About 1,500 more personnel have also been added to the short-staffed traffic wing for more presence on the roads and thereby better enforcement.
Even as cops will be posted on the roads in full strength from February 1 to prosecute all those breaking rules and driving recklessly, the top cop feels only prosecution is not a solution. He added: "The solution to Delhi's traffic problems lies in self regulation and not just stepping up prosecution. We need to realise that what we do to other drivers by driving carelessly can also happen to us. The day this realisation comes, the Capital will become a better place to drive in.''
When asked what is being done to improve the quality of enforcement at the lower levels and weed out corruption, Dadwal further said: "Strict action is taken against errant officials from time to time. In fact, since last year, more than two-third of the faces seen in the traffic police force are new.''
In the first 16 days of the new year, the traffic police have prosecuted over 1.35 lakh vehicles in drives all over the city. Last year, over 26 lakh challans were issued for varied offences. A fall out of this was a reduction in the number of accidents and resultant road deaths.
Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Get ready to drive better from February 1. Delhi Police commissioner YS Dadwal, on Friday, announced that the traffic police are going to
start heavy prosecution for all road offences starting February 1.
"To bring about order on Delhi roads, the traffic police will start intensive challaning from February 1,'' said police commissioner YS Dadwal. To make this possible, the number of traffic patrol motor cycles is being doubled from the present 210 bikes to 420 bikes and 50 more Police Control Room (PCR) vans with traffic staff added to Delhi roads by February 15. The decision was taken after cops felt that the `chase and challan' scheme has proved to be an effective means of controlling road violations.
The police is now looking at an integration of traffic police and PCR units and a step forward towards this is the introduction of 50 more PCR vans on traffic duties. The main benefit, said Dadwal, is that all the vans are fitted with Global Positioning System (GPS) making their locations easy to track. So when they are needed to attend an emergency call, they can immediately be tracked at the control room and rushed to the scene of crime. For the rest of the time, they can serve as force multipliers for the traffic police.
About 1,500 more personnel have also been added to the short-staffed traffic wing for more presence on the roads and thereby better enforcement.
Even as cops will be posted on the roads in full strength from February 1 to prosecute all those breaking rules and driving recklessly, the top cop feels only prosecution is not a solution. He added: "The solution to Delhi's traffic problems lies in self regulation and not just stepping up prosecution. We need to realise that what we do to other drivers by driving carelessly can also happen to us. The day this realisation comes, the Capital will become a better place to drive in.''
When asked what is being done to improve the quality of enforcement at the lower levels and weed out corruption, Dadwal further said: "Strict action is taken against errant officials from time to time. In fact, since last year, more than two-third of the faces seen in the traffic police force are new.''
In the first 16 days of the new year, the traffic police have prosecuted over 1.35 lakh vehicles in drives all over the city. Last year, over 26 lakh challans were issued for varied offences. A fall out of this was a reduction in the number of accidents and resultant road deaths.
Over 10,000 motorists challaned for violation of traffic rules
Monday, January 19, 2009
Source:http://www.indopia.in
New Delhi, Jan 15 Over 10,000 errant motorists were challaned for rampant violation of traffic rules by Delhi Police, with around 4,000 being booked for improper parking and jumping the Red lights.
"A total of 10,688 vehicles -- including 3,393 cars, 2,532 two wheelers, 2,222 light goods vehicle, 93 heavy transport vehicles, 781 buses, 48 RTVs, and 950 TSRs -- were challaned during the day,"a senior police officer said.
A total of 2,214 challans were issued for improper parking, 1,914 for jumping the Red light, 598 for dangerous driving and seven for drunken driving, he said.
Police also impounded 170 vehicles and punched 641 driving licenses of the violators.
Traffic police had carried out drive against errant motorists at the areas like Parliament Street, Connaught Place, Chankyapuri, Tilak Marg, Gandhi Nagar, Vivek Vihar, Kamla Bazar, Karol Bagh, Daryaganj and Kotwali localities.
The drive against bus drivers were carried out at Shahdara, Seelampur, Seempuri, Paharganj, Karol Bagh and other localities where cases of violation of traffic rules was very high.
A special drive against the violation of rules by the government vehicles were carried out in some of the South Delhi locality, he said.
Source:http://www.indopia.in
New Delhi, Jan 15 Over 10,000 errant motorists were challaned for rampant violation of traffic rules by Delhi Police, with around 4,000 being booked for improper parking and jumping the Red lights.
"A total of 10,688 vehicles -- including 3,393 cars, 2,532 two wheelers, 2,222 light goods vehicle, 93 heavy transport vehicles, 781 buses, 48 RTVs, and 950 TSRs -- were challaned during the day,"a senior police officer said.
A total of 2,214 challans were issued for improper parking, 1,914 for jumping the Red light, 598 for dangerous driving and seven for drunken driving, he said.
Police also impounded 170 vehicles and punched 641 driving licenses of the violators.
Traffic police had carried out drive against errant motorists at the areas like Parliament Street, Connaught Place, Chankyapuri, Tilak Marg, Gandhi Nagar, Vivek Vihar, Kamla Bazar, Karol Bagh, Daryaganj and Kotwali localities.
The drive against bus drivers were carried out at Shahdara, Seelampur, Seempuri, Paharganj, Karol Bagh and other localities where cases of violation of traffic rules was very high.
A special drive against the violation of rules by the government vehicles were carried out in some of the South Delhi locality, he said.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
MCD demolishes slums to make way for parking lot
Monday, January 12, 2009
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com
In preparation for a Commonwealth Games-related parking project, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi carried out demolitions of slum
clusters along a drain behind J N Stadium on Saturday. The project costs an estimated Rs 325 crore.
The drain and the land around it will be used for a parking site, an MCD official informed. "The drain is 1km in length by 65 metres in width. This will be covered and cleared land along it will also be used for parking,'' said an official.
The demolition began at 11.30am and continued till 5pm. Officials said around 500-600 slums were cleared and 200-300 more would be demolished on Monday. "Many of the slum units were pucca structures and hence it took us time to pull them down,'' an official from MCD's south zone said.
Another MCD official said there was no resistance from the slum dwellers and it was not the responsibility of the civic agency to relocate the encroachers.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com
In preparation for a Commonwealth Games-related parking project, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi carried out demolitions of slum
clusters along a drain behind J N Stadium on Saturday. The project costs an estimated Rs 325 crore.
The drain and the land around it will be used for a parking site, an MCD official informed. "The drain is 1km in length by 65 metres in width. This will be covered and cleared land along it will also be used for parking,'' said an official.
The demolition began at 11.30am and continued till 5pm. Officials said around 500-600 slums were cleared and 200-300 more would be demolished on Monday. "Many of the slum units were pucca structures and hence it took us time to pull them down,'' an official from MCD's south zone said.
Another MCD official said there was no resistance from the slum dwellers and it was not the responsibility of the civic agency to relocate the encroachers.
Drive against illegal parking
Monday, January 12, 2009
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Delhi traffic police held a special drive on Friday to check vehicular movement in the city. In a crackdown on unauthorized parking in Connaught Place, 1165 vehicles were prosecuted, out of which 40 cars were towed away. In another drive to check two-wheelers and autos, 26,000 vehicles were prosecuted. While majority two-wheelers were booked for jumping red lights, autos were prosecuted for misbehaviour with commuters.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Delhi traffic police held a special drive on Friday to check vehicular movement in the city. In a crackdown on unauthorized parking in Connaught Place, 1165 vehicles were prosecuted, out of which 40 cars were towed away. In another drive to check two-wheelers and autos, 26,000 vehicles were prosecuted. While majority two-wheelers were booked for jumping red lights, autos were prosecuted for misbehaviour with commuters.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Parking projects hit by meltdown
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has raised fears that the economic downturn may take its toll on important infrastructure
projects like creating more parking space in the city in view of the Commonwealth Games 2010.
During a discussion at an MCD standing committee meeting on the delay in implementation of parking projects, municipal commissioner K S Mehra said there are apprehensions that the meltdown may lead to lack of response from private agencies to the projects to be taken up on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis.
"Most infrastructure projects in Delhi are awarded to private firms for development on BOT basis after inviting tenders from them. The civic body may go for liberalising its tender policy to attract private firms who would otherwise be hesitant to come forward due to economic reasons,'' said Mehra. The MCD is planning to set up a panel to study if the economic turmoil will hit the infrastructure projects and revise its tender policy if necessary.
The civic agency would be relaxing some of the norms for the tender process to make sure companies with greater turnovers are selected for infrastructure projects, including constructing the 24 conventional parking projects.
Said leader of opposition J K Sharma: "In such a situation, none of the parking projects will be completed in time. Whether it is getting clearances from various departments or recession, some reason is given for the delay even though the projects were suggested as long back as 2003. I want to know whether the financial closure of contracts happened before or after the meltdown.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has raised fears that the economic downturn may take its toll on important infrastructure
projects like creating more parking space in the city in view of the Commonwealth Games 2010.
During a discussion at an MCD standing committee meeting on the delay in implementation of parking projects, municipal commissioner K S Mehra said there are apprehensions that the meltdown may lead to lack of response from private agencies to the projects to be taken up on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis.
"Most infrastructure projects in Delhi are awarded to private firms for development on BOT basis after inviting tenders from them. The civic body may go for liberalising its tender policy to attract private firms who would otherwise be hesitant to come forward due to economic reasons,'' said Mehra. The MCD is planning to set up a panel to study if the economic turmoil will hit the infrastructure projects and revise its tender policy if necessary.
The civic agency would be relaxing some of the norms for the tender process to make sure companies with greater turnovers are selected for infrastructure projects, including constructing the 24 conventional parking projects.
Said leader of opposition J K Sharma: "In such a situation, none of the parking projects will be completed in time. Whether it is getting clearances from various departments or recession, some reason is given for the delay even though the projects were suggested as long back as 2003. I want to know whether the financial closure of contracts happened before or after the meltdown.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
No second chance for bad drivers
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Figure this. Not a single violator of traffic rules was booked under the repeat offence provision of the law, which calls for more
stringent punishment, in 2008 because the traffic police maintain no such record. But those caught on Delhi roads will not be so lucky this year. In a few months, being caught for a second-time violation will attract a higher fine, even jail.
The traffic police have already initiated the process of updating a database of all the challans with details of both the vehicle and the driver. According to sources, the provision for repeat offences is not used, even though a higher fine can be imposed on the offender, as there are no details of the challans issued. The cops are now in the process of compiling this data and uploading it onto a central server.
"The tendering process for system is over and it should be in place within 2-3 months,'' confirmed Mukhtesh Chander, additional commissioner of police (traffic). In a month, the traffic police issue over one lakh challans and this data will automatically get uploaded on the system once the new facility is in place.
The traffic police is also planning to upload the details online along with a search option. This will benefit those hiring drivers, as they will be able to access the driving history of the person and all the violations committed by him in the recent past. By entering the name of the driver or his driving license details, one will be able to get information on the driving history of the person. The process is also expected to act as a deterrent for drivers, as jumping a red light for instance, will affect their record.
Driving licences of `bad' drivers will be revoked. Once the system has been tested, the cops plan to approach the state transport department to seek action against drivers committing multiple offences. "We are planning to propose cancellation of DLs in severe cases and suspension for others, who will be asked to undergo proper driving training from a government authorized driving school before they are allowed on the road again,'' sources said.
The system is almost similar to that used in many developed cities where drivers getting more than stipulated number of "tickets'' face cancellation of driving licenses.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Figure this. Not a single violator of traffic rules was booked under the repeat offence provision of the law, which calls for more
stringent punishment, in 2008 because the traffic police maintain no such record. But those caught on Delhi roads will not be so lucky this year. In a few months, being caught for a second-time violation will attract a higher fine, even jail.
The traffic police have already initiated the process of updating a database of all the challans with details of both the vehicle and the driver. According to sources, the provision for repeat offences is not used, even though a higher fine can be imposed on the offender, as there are no details of the challans issued. The cops are now in the process of compiling this data and uploading it onto a central server.
"The tendering process for system is over and it should be in place within 2-3 months,'' confirmed Mukhtesh Chander, additional commissioner of police (traffic). In a month, the traffic police issue over one lakh challans and this data will automatically get uploaded on the system once the new facility is in place.
The traffic police is also planning to upload the details online along with a search option. This will benefit those hiring drivers, as they will be able to access the driving history of the person and all the violations committed by him in the recent past. By entering the name of the driver or his driving license details, one will be able to get information on the driving history of the person. The process is also expected to act as a deterrent for drivers, as jumping a red light for instance, will affect their record.
Driving licences of `bad' drivers will be revoked. Once the system has been tested, the cops plan to approach the state transport department to seek action against drivers committing multiple offences. "We are planning to propose cancellation of DLs in severe cases and suspension for others, who will be asked to undergo proper driving training from a government authorized driving school before they are allowed on the road again,'' sources said.
The system is almost similar to that used in many developed cities where drivers getting more than stipulated number of "tickets'' face cancellation of driving licenses.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Over 770 fined for honking unnecessarily in Delhi
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Over 770 vehicle drivers were penalised in the national capital on Thursday for honking unnecessarily as the city observed 'No Honking Day'.
The maximum number of 322 were slapped with fines in Northern Range which comprises Central North, North-West and Outer districts.
It was followed by Southern Range consisting of South, South-West and West districts with 256 and New Delhi Range which consists of East, North-East and New Delhi districts with 196.
The 'No Honking Day' was observed by Delhi Traffic Police in collaboration with an NGO Earth Saviours Foundation. The campaign which started on December 13 ended on Thursday.
As per the law, honking unnecessarily at street intersections, silence zones, hospitals and schools are liable for prosecution.
This attracts a fine which extends upto Rs 100 for the first offence and for any second or subsequent offence with a fine of upto Rs 300.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Over 770 vehicle drivers were penalised in the national capital on Thursday for honking unnecessarily as the city observed 'No Honking Day'.
The maximum number of 322 were slapped with fines in Northern Range which comprises Central North, North-West and Outer districts.
It was followed by Southern Range consisting of South, South-West and West districts with 256 and New Delhi Range which consists of East, North-East and New Delhi districts with 196.
The 'No Honking Day' was observed by Delhi Traffic Police in collaboration with an NGO Earth Saviours Foundation. The campaign which started on December 13 ended on Thursday.
As per the law, honking unnecessarily at street intersections, silence zones, hospitals and schools are liable for prosecution.
This attracts a fine which extends upto Rs 100 for the first offence and for any second or subsequent offence with a fine of upto Rs 300.
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