New Delhi: Instead of waiting for violations to pile up at the capital’s most troublesome stretches, Delhi Traffic Police will start a “Drive of the Day” initiative, under which specific traffic problems will become the focus each day at certain locations.As part of the plan, earlier identified congestion hotspots across the city will be a part of the focused action. “Teams will target violations and road-use patterns that regularly turn these locations into bottlenecks,” said special CP, traffic, Ajay Chaudhary.The 62 hotspots include six key areas — Bhavbhuti Marg, Kashmere Gate, Madhuban Chowk, Anand Vihar, South Extension and Punjabi Bagh.“The idea is to identify what is going wrong at a particular location and make that the day’s enforcement priority. At one spot, this could mean cracking down on wrong-side driving; at another, illegal parking, roadside obstruction, stray cattle, unauthorised stopping or vehicles blocking crucial road space could become the focus,” he said.The approach is aimed at tackling the chain reaction behind the congestion. A vehicle parked on the carriageway, an auto stopping in the middle of the road or motorists taking the wrong side can quickly eat into available road space, slowing down hundreds of vehicles behind them.The initiative will allow teams to focus on a specific problem at each hotspot. Officials are also expected to track whether the targeted drives actually improve traffic movement and whether the same violations return after enforcement is scaled down.The move also marks an attempt to look beyond the number of challans issued as the only measure of enforcement. The traffic police plans to assess whether focused action is changing road behaviour and easing congestion at identified locations.For commuters, however, the real test will be simple: whether these daily interventions mean fewer bottlenecks and smoother movement on the roads they use every day.The initiative is expected to be rolled out within a month, officials said.
