Noida traffic police to focus on enforcement against polluting vehicles

Police officials said they will also sensitise people to follow traffic rules during the road safety month that was launched on Monday from the commissionerate office in Noida’s Sector 108

The Gautam Budh Nagar traffic police on Monday launched the road safety month with an aim to focus on enforcement against polluting vehicles and encourage the use of electric vehicles in the district. Police officials said they will also sensitise people to follow traffic rules during the month-long drive.

An inauguration event was organised at the commissionerate office in Noida’s Sector 108 on Monday. (Sunil Ghosh/HT)

Police commissioner Alok Singh said that there is a need to inculcate a sense of road discipline in the mind of every commuter. “India has world’s 1% vehicles, but it records 11% global road accidents. We need to change our mindset and follow traffic rules strictly,” Singh said at the inaugural programme at commissionerate office in Sector 108.

Ganesh Prasad Saha, deputy commissioner of police (traffic), Gautam Budh Nagar, said that police will take strict action against polluting vehicles. “We will impound diesel and petrol vehicles older than 15 and 10 years, respectively. We are also taking action against vehicles using modified silencers. Besides, we will encourage people to use e-vehicles,” he said.

The district has 771,087 registered vehicles, of which 6,937 are e-vehicles, the officials said.

“At present, the traffic police department has 565 personnel. We have added around 1,000 traffic volunteers,” the DCP said.

Shreya Sharma, a resident of Noida’s Sector 50 and one of the traffic volunteers, said, “Every Sunday we conduct a traffic awareness programme at the neighbouring crossing. We also urge people to wear a helmet while riding motorcycles,” she said.

Anurag Kulshrestha, president of TRAX, a road safety NGO, delivered a presentation at the inaugural programme and said that roads should have 360 degree visibility, proper lane marking, walkable footpath, proper merging of traffic, and easy emergency exit. “We have found that Noida roads lack these technical aspects which must be fixed,” Kulshrestha said.

Some private companies also displayed their innovative models for traffic safety and smart policing during the programme. The police commissioner visited these stalls and interacted with their representatives.

Abhishek Dwivedi, chief operating officer of EVeez, put up a stall to display e-bikes on subscription basis. “E-bikes are environment friendly and cheaper as compared to diesel and petrol vehicles. We found that some people do not want to buy such vehicles but want to ride them. We are offering these vehicles for a monthly rent,” he said.