New Delhi: Delhi on Friday showed the way as the controversial and ambitious odd-even scheme of the AAP government to combat spiralling air pollution got off to a successful start.
Vehicles with even-numbered registration plates stayed off the roads, reducing considerably the volume of traffic in the national capital. Buoyed by the decent start, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal took a dig at the Centre, saying, ‘Dilli ke logon ne kendra sarkar ki aisi-taise kar di... Unhon ne kendra ko angootha dikha diya. (The people of Delhi today showed that they don’t care about the Central government.)” He also accused the Centre of trying to sabotage the scheme of road-rationing on the eve of its implementation by instigating the strike by bureaucrats.
The CM, however, maintained there would be a reassessment after the pilot plan ends on January 15 and that it would never be “permanently” implemented. Some AAP ministers car-pooled, others used motorcycles and public transport to commute up to Delhi Secretariat. The Delhi police prosecuted 117 people till 5 pm for violating the rule.
