New Delhi: With the odd-even road rationing drive entering its fourth day on Thursday, the Delhi government added 100 new standard-floor CNG buses to the city fleet.
With this, the total number of state-run buses in the national capital has gone up to 5,666 (3,762 DTC and 1,904 cluster buses) which is still only about half the required number of buses (11,000) in Delhi.
While flagging off the 100 new buses Thursday, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said 3,000 more buses will hit the Delhi roads in the next six or seven months, of which 1,000 will be electric buses — the largest ever deployment of e-buses in the country.
“Delhi is being recognized all over the world for its quality of education and health, and we are also trying to strengthen our transport system. The new buses are equipped with CCTV cameras, panic alarm buttons, hydraulic lifts for the differently abled, and all modern advancements,” Kejriwal said.
Talking about the ongoing odd-even drive, transport minister Kailash Ghalot said 694 fines for violations of the odd-even rule were issued by teams of the traffic police (454), transport (148) and revenue (92) departments on Thursday – the fourth day of the drive. Till 2pm, 345 fines were issued. “People have taken the rule very positively. Compliance to the drive continued to remain high on Thursday,” he said.
On Wednesday, a total of 709 fines were issued. On Tuesday, 562 fines were issued, while on Monday, the first day of the drive, 271 violators were prosecuted. The government had, on Tuesday, said it is gradually intensifying the crackdown on violators of the rule which attracts a penalty of ₹4,000, to be paid on the spot.
{{/usCountry}}On Wednesday, a total of 709 fines were issued. On Tuesday, 562 fines were issued, while on Monday, the first day of the drive, 271 violators were prosecuted. The government had, on Tuesday, said it is gradually intensifying the crackdown on violators of the rule which attracts a penalty of ₹4,000, to be paid on the spot.
{{/usCountry}}Kejriwal said a final decision on whether the rule will be lifted on Monday and Tuesday (November 11 and 12), on account of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, will be taken on Friday. The transport department, on Wednesday, had sent the proposal to Kejriwal after a delegation of Sikhs led by Tilak Nagar MLA Jarnail Singh met Gahlot and sought exemption for these days.
If approved, then the odd-even drive will not be enforced for three consecutive days – Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.
“We respect the sentiments of the Sikh community. We will decide on this by tomorrow. Pollution has decreased. It rained today, so there is some respite as the air quality has slightly improved,” Kejriwal said.