NEW DELHI: As air quality continued to dip and the city suffered its third straight day of 'severe' category pollution on Thursday, the Delhi government decided to roll out the third edition of odd-even traffic restrictions for five days next week, starting from Monday.
Transport minister Kailash Gahlot said the road-rationing scheme was being implemented in view of air quality in the city remaining in the severe zone for more than 48 hours.
Although the toxic smog that has been hanging over the city and NCR lifted slightly on Thursday, pollution markers dipped further to the lowest level this season. The air quality index inched closer to the emergency level of 500, rising to 486 from 478 the previous day. The Met office, however, has predicted an improvement in air quality beginning from the second half of Friday.
Contrary to expectations of fewer exemptions to the odd-even rule this time around, Gahlot said that due to paucity of time, the list of those kept of the scheme was the same as in the previous editions rolled out in January and April last year.
Nearly 3,500 traffic police personnel will be deployed to enforce the rules of the odd-even scheme that allows only odd-numbered vehicles to run on the roads on odd dates and even-numbered ones on even dates. In addition, 5,000 civil defence volunteers would be deployed to guide motorists and create awareness.
The scheme will be enforced from 8am to 8pm on each of the five days. Violators will be liable to pay a fine of Rs 2,000.
Gahlot said chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had made it clear he as an individual as well as the city government were concerned about pollution in Delhi. He also appealed to all residents of Delhi to cooperate in this "hour of crisis".
"The main reason (for the pollution) is not conditions within Delhi but crop burning in adjoining states," Gahlot said, adding that all north Indian states were facing the same situation and appealed to other states to come together and find a solution.
"I request the honourable Prime Minister to convene an emergency meeting of all north Indian states," he said.
He said that while the Delhi Transport Corporation will arrange 500 private buses apart from deploying its entire fleet during these five days, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has also been asked to arrange for 100 minibuses to be operated on 20 routes for last mile connectivity.
Gahlot also said that surge pricing by app-based cab aggregators will not be allowed during the odd-even scheme and a meeting with the aggregators has been scheduled on Friday.
Cab aggregator, Uber, said it would suspend surge pricing during the odd-even period. "This is a moment of crisis and public health emergency in Delhi NCR. Uber is committed to fully supporting the odd-even scheme and complementing public transportation. As a first step, we have decided to suspend dynamic pricing during the odd-even days. Additionally, rides to and from Metro stations will also ply on reduced fares," said Prabhjeet Singh, general manager, Uber India (Delhi and north India).
"We are encouraging riders to #DecongestDelhi and promoting uberPOOL over all other services at this point through deep discounts, special fares, incentives and public interest messaging. We are also securing anti-pollution masks for our staff as well as driver partners," he said.
As CNG-run vehicles are exempt from the scheme, CNG stickers would be made available at 23 different locations across the city, a spokesperson of Indraprastha Gas Ltd. (IGL) said. Those who already have these stickers on their vehicle windscreens would not need new stickers.
"The CNG stickers issued by IGL in the earlier two rounds of odd-even would also be valid. For the convenience of those driving CNG cars, IGL will issue stickers from 2pm to 10pm daily from Friday at 23 select CNG stations," the spokesperson said.
"Original vehicle registration certificate (RC) having CNG endorsement and valid hydrotest certificate or valid compliance plate would have to be shown for getting the sticker," he said.
Transport minister Kailash Gahlot said the road-rationing scheme was being implemented in view of air quality in the city remaining in the severe zone for more than 48 hours.
Although the toxic smog that has been hanging over the city and NCR lifted slightly on Thursday, pollution markers dipped further to the lowest level this season. The air quality index inched closer to the emergency level of 500, rising to 486 from 478 the previous day. The Met office, however, has predicted an improvement in air quality beginning from the second half of Friday.
Contrary to expectations of fewer exemptions to the odd-even rule this time around, Gahlot said that due to paucity of time, the list of those kept of the scheme was the same as in the previous editions rolled out in January and April last year.
Nearly 3,500 traffic police personnel will be deployed to enforce the rules of the odd-even scheme that allows only odd-numbered vehicles to run on the roads on odd dates and even-numbered ones on even dates. In addition, 5,000 civil defence volunteers would be deployed to guide motorists and create awareness.
The scheme will be enforced from 8am to 8pm on each of the five days. Violators will be liable to pay a fine of Rs 2,000.
Gahlot said chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had made it clear he as an individual as well as the city government were concerned about pollution in Delhi. He also appealed to all residents of Delhi to cooperate in this "hour of crisis".
"The main reason (for the pollution) is not conditions within Delhi but crop burning in adjoining states," Gahlot said, adding that all north Indian states were facing the same situation and appealed to other states to come together and find a solution.
"I request the honourable Prime Minister to convene an emergency meeting of all north Indian states," he said.
He said that while the Delhi Transport Corporation will arrange 500 private buses apart from deploying its entire fleet during these five days, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has also been asked to arrange for 100 minibuses to be operated on 20 routes for last mile connectivity.
Gahlot also said that surge pricing by app-based cab aggregators will not be allowed during the odd-even scheme and a meeting with the aggregators has been scheduled on Friday.
Cab aggregator, Uber, said it would suspend surge pricing during the odd-even period. "This is a moment of crisis and public health emergency in Delhi NCR. Uber is committed to fully supporting the odd-even scheme and complementing public transportation. As a first step, we have decided to suspend dynamic pricing during the odd-even days. Additionally, rides to and from Metro stations will also ply on reduced fares," said Prabhjeet Singh, general manager, Uber India (Delhi and north India).
"We are encouraging riders to #DecongestDelhi and promoting uberPOOL over all other services at this point through deep discounts, special fares, incentives and public interest messaging. We are also securing anti-pollution masks for our staff as well as driver partners," he said.
As CNG-run vehicles are exempt from the scheme, CNG stickers would be made available at 23 different locations across the city, a spokesperson of Indraprastha Gas Ltd. (IGL) said. Those who already have these stickers on their vehicle windscreens would not need new stickers.
"The CNG stickers issued by IGL in the earlier two rounds of odd-even would also be valid. For the convenience of those driving CNG cars, IGL will issue stickers from 2pm to 10pm daily from Friday at 23 select CNG stations," the spokesperson said.
"Original vehicle registration certificate (RC) having CNG endorsement and valid hydrotest certificate or valid compliance plate would have to be shown for getting the sticker," he said.
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