Appropriate policy intervention and a stricter enforcement of the laws would go a long way to ease the traffic concerns prevailing in the Delhi NCR, said top cops of Delhi, Gurgaon and Noida here on Saturday.
They said that traffic in Delhi- NCR was grappling with issues of badly designed roads, footpaths and pavements; overflow of traffic from neighboring places; inappropriate user-behavior; lack of enforcement of traffic laws and road rage.
Dr. Muktesh Chander, Delhi's Special Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Navdeep Singh Virk, Commissioner of Police, Gurgaon; and Kiran S. senior Superintendant of Police, Noida, while addressing a 'Face to Face with the Government' panel discussion on the theme 'Traffic Concerns in NCR' organised by FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO).
Dr. Chander said that the motto of Delhi Traffic Police was 'Mobility with Safety'. It was essential that safety became a key rider and in the past road accidents have come down considerably owing to the efforts made by the Delhi Traffic police. He added that to minimize the traffic chaos in the city, there was a need for policy intervention and stricter enforcement of law. The New Motor Vehicle Act which is pending in Parliament could help in resolving the traffic issues as it prescribes severe punishments for violation of traffic rules.
Virk said that the traffic police in Gurgaon faced a severe shortage of resources and the government was forthcoming in trying to bridge this gap. However, to deal with traffic congestion at present, the community has come up in a big way to help traffic police.
He revealed that in Gurgaon, on Tuesdays, people are encouraged to travel either by public transport or use bicycles, and with time, many corporates have joined the campaign voluntarily.
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He added that 'Society for Safe Gurgaon' had also been set up in PPP mode for creating harmony in the city.
Kiran S. said that in the last 15 years Noida had become a hub for IT and call center industries, which led to at least six peak timings instead of the usual two peak hours during the day, and resulted in traffic congestion even at night.
He added that traffic was governed by 3 Es - Education, Engineering and Enforcement - and Noida traffic police was working on the parameters to ease traffic issues.
Speaking on pollution, an issue related to increasing vehicles and traffic in the city, Mr. Keshav Chandra, Chairman & Managing Director, Delhi Tourism & Transportation Development Corporation Ltd., said that with the rise in vehicles quality of life was being affected in the city and the main culprit was the upsurge in diesel vehicles. He added that instead of subsidizing the cost of diesel, it should be priced at a higher rate to encourage people to switch to petrol vehicles.
In her welcome address,Archana Garodia Gupta, President, FLO, said, "It is important to bridge the communication gap between the civil society and the government for an improved redressal of issues and concerns. The annual event of FLO 'Face to Face with the Government' is an effective platform to take it forward. This time, we have taken us the traffic concerns in NCR as it is perhaps one of the most wearisome issues that we face in our daily lives.