By weekend, all rules of Games will change

If you can’t instill discipline then invent a notification or a prohibitory order that will rein them in.

If you can’t instill discipline then invent a notification or a prohibitory order that will rein them in.

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For the Commonwealth Games, the Delhi Police had come up with some orders in the name of security for visiting athletes and delegates. But the notification order and also a new police station set up exclusively for the Games would cease to exist once the sporting extravaganza ends.

To instill a sense of road discipline among Delhiites, the city police had implemented a new notification on dedicated lanes on September 23, two days before the athletes and delegates started arriving in the national capital.

So far the police have fined 2,300 motorists for violating the lane rule.

“Delhiites can breathe a sigh of relief as they would no longer be fined or stopped from driving on a portion of road that had been painted blue and white. We had also stopped goods vehicles from entering the city that proved to be a major help in easing the traffic flow,” said a senior police officer.

Police said had the notification not been implemented, it wouldn't have been possible to manage the city's traffic.

“If you do not come up with a notification then it is not easy to implement traffic rules. As part of the pact signed by the Delhi government with the Commonwealth Games Federation, we had to give clear passage to the buses and vehicles of athletes and delegates,” said the officer.

Two days after the Games had begun, the police also came up with a new prohibitory order banning “flying objects in Delhi”.

“Some miscreant could use flying objects to record or film the movement of athletes and delegates and take satellite pictures. There was a threat perception so we decided to implement a new law,” said another officer.

Police banned even toys such as remote operated aeroplanes considering them to be a security threat. It was punishable under Section 188 IPC, which meant imprisonment of one month.

The third change was setting up of a new police station run by the Crime Branch inside the Games village.

“This was done so that there is a clarity in investigation of cases and a specialised unit would handle them. This

applied when the athletes and delegates were a complainant or an accused in any case,” said Rajan Bhagat, spokesman, Delhi Police.