In a vital step to ease traffic jams, the Gurgaon police have banned the entry of heavy motor vehicles (HMVs) - trucks, dumpers, containers and the like - into the city, between 6 and 11 am, and 4 and 9 pm.
However, buses and mini-trucks are exempted from this directive. "During the prescribed hours, all HMVs will be off road, so that there is room for normal flow of traffic. About 1,000 such vehicles enter Gurgaon from the Rewari-Jaipur side of the national highway alone, every day," said Alok Mittal, JCP. Though the order comes into effect immediately, Mittal said police had been asked not to penalise offenders for the first 15-20 days. "An awareness campaign highlighting the new rule will be launched very soon," he said. Long traffic jams are a staple in the city, with the Gurgaon Expressway, the Gurgaon-Faridabad road and the Sohna-Gurgaon road being the worst-affected stretches.