Restrictions on movement of two-wheelers delayed

The proposal to restrict entry of two-wheelers in the capital city's busiest business centre has been put on hold until the beginning of next year.

The move initiated by the Delhi state government in a bid to decongest Connaught Place was supposed to come into force today.

However, the New Delhi Municipal Committee (NDMC) has said that since the contracts for parking lots are valid until December 31, any move to alter before expiry of the contract period might create legal complications for the civic body.

The original proposal envisaged no restriction on two-wheelers in the outer circles. Their movement was sought to be restricted in the middle and inner circles.

The logic for this is that since the upcoming Delhi Metro Rail will have a major railway station in the central park of the Connaught Place, the inner circle must be decongested so that a large number of pedestrians who will cross roads to board once the metro rail becomes operational are not inconvenienced.

Scooters and motorcycles are the most popular mode of transportation in the sprawling metropolis of 1.3 million. Besides their large numbers, the fact that most accidents in the city involve two-wheelers, also prompted the decision to restrict their movement.

Moreover, the traffic wing of the Delhi police confesses that all attempts to enforce a better traffic regime have had little impact on two-wheeler drivers, who cut lanes at will and speed past traffic signals.

Delhi has about three million two-wheelers out of its population of five million vehicles that ply on the city roads.

Once the proposal is implemented, only Janpath can be used by the two-wheelers to enter the middle and inner circles. They will have to park their vehicles in the underground Palika parking which remains largely unused now.

The parking tickets issued will work as ticket for free ride on pollution-free battery operated buses that will run at a frequency of five minutes and drop them anywhere in the middle or inner circle.

This move, the NDMC says, may also solve the parking problem currently faced in various surface parking lots, as they will become out of bounds for two wheelers.

Authorities have long been making various plans to decongest the circular shaped Connaught Place, considered the heart of the city. These include a complete ban on entry of all vehicles in the middle and inner circles and increasing parking charges exorbitantly.