Odd-even phase two gets on Delhi’s nerves

The second phase of the odd- even scheme rolled out by the Arvind Kejriwal government from 15 April is proving to be extremely unpopular with the people of Delhi. Neither has the second phase brought down Delhi’s pollution lev- els, nor has it reduced traffic snarls across the city, making residents impatient and unhappy at a time when travelling around the city is anyway a strenuous exercise because of the scorching summer heat. The sale of fuel-guzzling cheap second-hand cars, with the number plate of one’s choice has increased and many vehicles have been converted to CNG, as a result of which the volume of traffic on city roads has not come down. According to the scheme, CNG cars are exempted from being penalised.

Shyam Lal, a West Delhi businessman who has a shop in Patel Nagar, now travels in auto-rickshaws on alternate days from his residence in Ramesh Nagar. He lashed out at the Kejriwal government, describing the odd- even scheme as a “publicity stunt”. “How can he (Kejriwal) arbitrarily impose this upon the people? Infrastructure for public transport has still not been adequately developed and this is the second phase, so what was the trial phase for? There are other issues like industrial pollution, pollution from dust, etc., which also need to be addressed. Cars contribute to just 20%, or less, of the pollution,” said an angry Lal.

Ashmika Bhalla, a resident of Pusa Road, who had come to drop her daughter to Springdales School in Karol Bagh, too was critical of the odd-even scheme. “This government seems confused. They had exempted parents carrying children in school uniform, but parents are being challaned while returning after dropping their kids. This is ridiculous. Were