NEW DELHI: Odd-even scheme is likely to be lifted for two days from its 14-day imposition in Delhi. The proposal was drafted after a delegation of Sikhs appealed to the transport minister to exempt odd-even scheme for November 11th and 12th so that the Sikh community of Delhi could observe the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev. This will lead to a three-day stretch during which odd-even won’t be applicable in Delhi as November 10th is a Sunday. Kailash Gahlot, Transport Minister, Government of NCT Delhi, said, “A file seeking to exempt everyone in the odd-even drive on Monday (November 11) and Tuesday (November 12) has been sent to the Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who will take a final call. A large number of ‘Sangats’ visit Delhi during the Guru Parv. If the scheme is in place during these two days, lakhs of people may have to face a lot of trouble to travel to different parts of the city.”
The transport minister also highlighted that the scheme has been comparatively success as the total number of violations has diminished since the scheme’s previous edition. He also added that the drive has significantly reduced traffic congestion in the city.
In order to further support public transit during this time, 100 more standard floor buses will be flagged off today under the cluster bus scheme. Gahlot also confirmed that the ridership of public transit systems in Delhi has gone up during this period.
“The CM will flag off these buses. Since last month, 129 new CNG cluster buses have already been pressed to service. The ridership of both metro and public transport buses has gone up during the scheme,” Gahlot said.