Windshield Experts, the pioneer in car windshields, have prepared a useful mnemonic for car preparation with WET FOG. This reminds car owners that another good way to reduce risk is to allow extra time for your journey.

As nights have gone long and days shorter, driving time these days for office goers is generally during the time when it is low visibility. This period is traditionally a peak time for car accidents. Thus the mnemonic, which will remind drivers to carry on necessary checks for their vehicles before they hit the road in this wet and foggy weather.

W is for Water: Check if windshield wash bottle is full and check antifreeze level of the radiator.
E is for Electrics: Check if all your lights work, and that any battery problems are sorted out. Carry spare bulbs.
T is for tyres: When it’s raining heavily, tyres have to displace 11 litres of water per second each! That needs tread. So change tyres at 3 mm if you can.
F is for fuel: Don’t run out! Fill –up when half empty so you’ll have enough to keep warm if stranded.
O is for oil: Don’t be dipstick! Check it regularly.
G is for glass: Keep all the car glasses clean, especially your car’s front windshield. Clean the inside of the windshield also too.

Carrying forward with my previous column on care that pedestrians should take during fog, today I am going to talk about care that motorists should take during fog.

Have you ever considered just how visible your car is to other road users? Being conspicuous to others depends on many factors such as the colour of your car as well as the prevailing weather conditions and how light it is. If you aren't easily visible to others it creates all sorts of safety problems, which can put your life and others at risk. For instance, vehicles are more likely to pull out in front of you or turn right across your path at intersections.

Presently the fog situation in Delhi is not that bad. But in the times to come it will be worse which will only increase the number of accidents on the road. H.P.S. Virk, DCP (Traffic/Northern Range) says, “Due to fog and cold, the tendency of traffic movement is changing now. Here’s a heavy traffic flow during daytime instead of night. At night the number of pedestrians, two wheelers and cyclists is less. So this year, even though there was fog, the number of accidents hasn’t increased.”

Similar is the case with New Delhi range. DCP (Traffic/New Delhi Range) A.S. Cheema says, “accidents haven’t happened due to fog in Delhi right now.” But as it’s snowing heavily in the hills of North India, that’s why there’s cloud in Delhi sky. Once snowfall stops and sky is clean in North India, the cloud cover in Delhi will remove and thus fog will be dense.
So stay safe, and above all be careful, courteous, and considerate when using the roads. Follow the rules given below in order to avoid accidents.

> BE SEEN - use your dipped headlights to make your car more visible to others (even in daylight they improve your safety).
> Keep your lights and indicators clean and in good working condition at all times.
> Make sure that your windscreen and windows are clean and clear, and that your washer systems have water in them.
> Reduce speed in bad weather or when visibility is poor.
>Watch out for pedestrians who may not have seen you.
> It is an offence to drive if your tail lamps are not working. So make sure your taillights are in working condition. During foggy days you should drive with both of your parking blinkers on. It is a great help for drivers who drive during foggy weather when the visibility reduces to five to 10 metres.

Foggy days are here once again and pedestrians on the road are the most vulnerable lot. According to advisory given in the Delhi Traffic Police website, pedestrians should take care of certain things in order to avoid accidents.
Pedestrians should: -
· Walk on pavements, not on the road.
· Walk facing the oncoming traffic when there are no pavements, so that you can see what is coming towards you.
· Ensure your visibility to vehicle drivers, especially at night. Wear light coloured clothes such as yellow and white, which are easier to see at night or pin reflectors to your clothes.
· Think ahead and plan the safest route to school, market, and your friend's homes.
· If you can walk but cannot run, make sure you carry a bright coloured walking stick when you cross the road so that drivers are careful and slow down.
· Follow the six-step crossing code whenever you have to cross the road:
1. THINK
What is a safe place to cross? Where can I see all the traffic properly? Make sure you are not hidden behind a parked car.
2. STOP
At the edge of the road where you have decided to cross.
3. LOOK & LISTEN
Look both ways, to see if there is any traffic coming.
4. WAIT
For all the traffic to pass, and for road to be clear.
5. CROSS
Walk straight across the road.
6. KEEP LOOKING & LISTENING
Keep looking in all directions as you cross the road until you get to the other side.

Motorists too should have a considerate and caring attitude towards pedestrians. Hence, as a vehicle driver one should always obey traffic rules, drive in a prescribed speed limit, and should avoid driving while you are drunk or under medication. Also be alert regarding pedestrians while taking turns, especially right turns at red lights.

I received a mail from Professor Surinder Nath from the Department of Anthropology, Delhi University. He writes, “You must have read about the 2% and 4%road tax proposed by the Government on new four wheelers purchased with effect from January 2005.

“How justified this tax is in the wake of such bad roads. It was despite the assurance given by the CM that the roads are in good condition all over Delhi. But if you move out on Delhi roads you will find it for yourself that if not more, at least 45-50% Delhi roads are in real bad shape and have deep ditches or they are so uneven that no one gets a smooth ride for more than 100 metres in one go.

“The patch work which has been done on these roads does not even wipe off the tears of the road users and most of the accidents are caused due to poor condition of the roads. Looking at such a state of affair is it justified to levy the new Road Tax to the car buyers? If that were so then the next would be a tax on breathing the polluted air. And paying the 4-5 times enhanced price of using water, which is again full of dirt and highly impure and contaminated for oral consumption.

“Next in the line would be a super tax on walking on the road or using the pavements (if al all they are there- as most of them have been merged in the roads or occupied by encroachers or pavement dwellers) I hope you consider this issue important and try to generate public opinion through your column.”

I feel the tax is justified in the sense that a normal person travelling in buses pays four times the road tax than a car owner pays in his life span. But yes, I think MCD should now start planning about building high quality roads in Delhi. And this should not be the case for only big roads of the city. All small colony roads should also be properly maintained. And first and foremost they should remove all the encroachments as well as unnecessary speed breakers from the roads.

Recently I saw a US-based insurance website www.insure.com. There was a very good article worth sharing with readers here in Delhi who think that they are perfect Delhi drivers.

Compare yourself with these accident magnets from Boston. These 30 drivers from Boston who have collectively been involved in 84 accidents over the past three years and received 49 speeding tickets, 39 moving violations and 92 parking tickets. Take a look at these questions to find out if you fit the profile.

When you reach a stop sign and no one is coming from another direction, do you roll through instead of stopping? An overwhelming majority (87%) of the bad drivers say they should be able to speed, go through stop signs, and break other driving rules and regulations as long as no one gets hurt.

Do you talk on the cell phone while driving instead of pulling off and stopping to talk? A total of 77% of bad drivers say they do this either frequently or occasionally. Only 13% say they never talk on a cell phone while driving.

Do you drive with one hand while using the other to eat? Some 60% of those in the study say they either frequently or occasionally eat while they're driving.

If you're out shopping in a crowded area and are looking for a parking space, do you become so focused on your search that you lose sight of the cars and pedestrians around you? More than half of the participants say that when they're trying to find a parking space in a crowded area, they can become so focused that they become oblivious to other drivers and pedestrians and often get into accidents, whether on the street or in a parking lot.

Do you hate driving behind SUVs or other large vehicles that obstruct your view? More than 60% of bad drivers say they are frustrated driving behind SUVs because they are wide and tall and block their vision.

Does your driving change when you go into areas with higher police presence? Nearly all of the participants strongly agree with the statement that they drive more carefully when they know police are in the area.

Does listening to music while you drive sometimes leave you oblivious to all but the music? Most say listening to the radio has often caused them to become distracted and in some cases they say listening to loud music has caused them to be more aggressive on the highway.

Do you find yourself in confrontations on the road, either through verbal arguments or hand gestures, because of either your own driving habits or the habits of others? While 87% of the bad drivers consider themselves at least somewhat courteous drivers if not very courteous, at least half also admit making obscene or rude gestures or comments to other drivers, particularly those who cut in front of them on the highway.

Does your "work hard, play hard" lifestyle leave you sleepy behind the wheel at times? About 50% of those in the study say they have almost fallen asleep while driving and an additional 10% say they have wanted to shut their eyes while driving and almost did.

When you're driving with passengers, do you turn around to talk, taking your eyes and mind off the road? Nearly all group members acknowledged that they are distracted when they have passengers in their vehicles, and most say during conversations they'll turn their heads and stop paying attention to the road.

If your answers agree with the answers from the focus group, it's likely you tend to be a more aggressive driver than average. These bad drivers have other characteristics that you may recognize in your own life. Most say they lead very stressful lives without enough time to accomplish all their activities in a day. They all consider themselves either somewhat or very outgoing, and all have a fair to great amount of confidence in the way they behave. And 90% say they've told a "little white lie" to protect someone's feelings.

On Monday evening I went to the Indira Gandhi International Airport to receive a friend of mine (Anmol) coming from Singapore. Since some of his friends who were in Delhi for the first time and had to take a connecting flight on their way back to Kathmandu, they were a confused lot. But the courteous staff of CISF personnel posted and even Delhi Traffic Police guided them towards visitors lounge and also showed us the way towards the pre-paid taxi booth of the Delhi Traffic Police.Everything in the airport was going on smoothly until I took the receipt (No. 0281881) for Old Rajinder Nagar from the pre-paid taxi counter. The clerk sitting there asked for Rs 120. I paid the money, and I got into the taxi towards my destination. However, when I checked the slip (Slip No. 118263), the taxi charges printed on the slip was just Rs 215. Which means the clerk had kept Rs 5 in his pocket. It’s ok when sometimes these guys don’t have a change. But this was a clear case of this person (Moti Lal Meena, according to his name stamped on the slip), charging extra money from me. There must be hundreds of people using the pre-paid taxi booths to hire a cab at the Indira Gandhi International Airport. And even if they charge Rs five from each guy, they are minting money like hell.I enquired from the taxi driver and he kept mum but just nodded that it happens. Then I went to the taxi stand near my house and checked with few of the drivers, they told me that it happens rampantly at the airport. Since I am a Delhiite so they only charged five bucks extra, but from foreigners sometimes they charge even Rs 50 extra. Often it’s said that first impression is the last one. You can very well imagine what impression does it leave on foreigners visiting Delhi for the first time!

I received a call from S.M. Hussain who is a resident of Surajkund. He says, “The Container Corporation of India is heart of Tughlaqabad. As a result hundreds of containers and trolleys are stationed all along the road of Tughlaqabad. These trolleys and containers are a big nuisance as they hamper smooth traffic flow on the Mehrauli - Badarpur Road. During peak hours, the traffic movement almost comes to a standstill because of these containers. “Often these trailers turn turtle on the road either killing pedestrians as well as blocking traffic. Many accidents have also taken place because of the wrongly parked trailers on the roadside.“People these days are avoiding Badarpur border because of the traffic jams there. People coming from Badarpur are nowadays taking a detour from either Suraj Apartments side or from the road, which goes through the shooting range.Thus Mehrauli - Badarpur Road has become a major link between Delhi and Faridabad, as it is the only alternative to Badarpur border. The traffic flow has thus increased on this road also and there is a huge flow of traffic day and night. But there is no cop to regulate traffic at Tughlaqabad. “Moreover, adjacent to Tughlaqabad, there is a township called Eros Garden with over 2000 families and Suraj Apartments. The residents of these apartments find it difficult to drive and are always at risk. My ultimate request is to shift the Container Corporation of India from Tughlaqabad and save the residents. The authorities concerned should look into the matter.”Shifting of the Container Corporation of India is a contentious issue but traffic police should definitely out its act together and start prosecuting the parked trailers as well as trucks on the roadside.

One more caller called after reading about Badarpur border’s problem published in my column yesterday. Advocate Chaman Prakash called me to say that police is to be blamed for all that mess happening at Badarpur Border. He says, “Behind Shahi Masjid, there’s a bus stop and the traffic police should regulate them. These buses keep on standing there for a long time blocking the traffic on the road and also increasing congestion. Same position is there on Jaitpur Mode too. RTVs keep on standing there waiting for passengers leading to congestion. The traffic cops say nothing to them. If these two things are checked, it will ease traffic flow.”According to Delhi Traffic Police’s website, there is restriction on movement of heavy vehicles from 7.30 am to 11 am and 5 pm to 9.30 pm on Mathura Road from Central Road Research Institute to Badarpur border. But Chaman claims, “Cops allow these trucks to move even during the restriction time. This rule should be applied in stricter manner. Another point is that cops are present only during jams otherwise they are not present. Their presence only can check the building up of the jam there.” I think that restriction time in the evening should increase till 11 pm on all borders. Another call that I got was from Noida. Anubhav says, “I live in VSNL apartments in Sector 62, Noida. The vehicles move very fast in front of our colony. Yesterday (Monday), also there was an accident involving a pedestrian and a vehicle. The person just escaped with injuries. Like this there are frequent accidents on this road. Something should be done to check the speed of the vehicles.”I think that Noida traffic police should propose to construct a speed breaker there. This will check the speeding vehicles there. Another problem that is gripping Noida is the call centre Qualises and Sumos. Call centres are bustling in Noida and so are the numbers of their service vehicles. In fact Ronit called me from Noida to say that due to these fast moving vehicles, accidents have increased. Noida traffic police should check them as it is done in Delhi.

Recently I got a book titled “Safe Driving – The driving manual and rules of the road” published by Hubert Ebner which is an Indo-Austrian joint venture established to develop the infrastructure of driver training systems in India. Their academy is at Chirag Enclave, where they impart training to driving instructors and post license drivers. It is one of the best driving manuals, which I recommend any driver should go through before hitting the roads. This book has been especially written with reference to Indian context where the modes of transport vary from a bullock cart and tractors to vrooming sports cars. This manual as Hubert Ebner claims is perhaps the first major initiative to bring forth a comprehensive teaching - learning guide coupled with an interactive Learning System for training schools. The manual which covers all the necessary aspects for safe driving aims at supporting driver training instructors, motor licensing officers, as well as the drivers.From Different types of road users and informing about the Rules of the Road, this manual also gives you an advisory regarding some important components about your vehicle (basically cars) and how to drive it comfortably (this one for beginners). Another important issue that they have explained is how to drive defensively on Indian roads. This is a very significant aspect of driving and few drivers in Delhi practice it. Another chapter is on vehicle care and basic maintenance, which I think should be read by owners of self-driven cars. I recommend this book to every road user especially Delhi drivers as they don’t know even the basic rules of the road. Priced at Rs 198/-, you can contact Hubert Ebner @ 26445697. (Address: C-18, Chirag Enclave, New Delhi – 110048 URL: http://www.he-india.com).

Anil Juneja, a resident of Badarpur, called me up to tell me about traffic snarls at Badarpur Border. Even I am aware of that and National Highways Authority of India is developing the Badarpur border on a priority basis so there is a smooth transition of traffic on that road. Anil says, “Everyday in the morning and evening you have to wait for 45minutes to one hour in traffic just to cross the border.” Well that is nothing new. Most of the commuters travelling from Faridabad to Delhi have complained me about it. However, he has a suggestion which if implemented can save commuters from routine jams at Mathura Road on Badarpur border. He says, “There are two canals coming from Mithapur and Palla flow behind Sarita Vihar next to the Indian Oil bottling plant. It is a stretch of hardly two-and-a-half kilometres. If some of the traffic is diverted from that road to Faridabad, then traffic congestion at Badarpur Border will ease. The only problem is the road is presently un-metalled. Once the authorities construct the road properly, it can be a nice alternative for traffic going to Faridabad and vice versa.” I think the authorities should take a look at this alternative and should repair the road. The Delhi Traffic Police should work out some traffic arrangement in which this road can be used to ease traffic on Mathura Road at Badarpur Border. It can be a stopgap arrangement for the time being only until the Badarpur border is completely developed by NHAI.

Avinash Rajput sent me a mail regarding rail overbridge between Britannia Chowk and Punjab Bagh Flyovers. He had mailed me during May last year citing a problem and traffic cops had assured him to rectify it. He wants the cops to either provide a speed breaker or remove the partition on the road from the rail overbridge. But he complains that nothing has been done so far. He writes, ”Since a long period has elapsed no action has been taken so far. During this month, I again found the said partition road badly damaged which shows that some fatal accidents might have taken place. If a survey is done, you will find a number of accidents have taken place on this particular site. I, therefore, once again request you to kindly inspect the site personally and take appropriate remedial action at your earliest to avoid any further mishap on this site.”Meanwhile, Sharad Kashyap from Yamuna Vihar has written to me regarding a problem. He says, “Madanpura-Tuglaqabad bridge is very dangerous. There are no bus lanes. Buses drive here at 60-70 kmph. Two to three accidents took place in the last three months. There are no police personnel to check the rash truck drivers. Please help me to get to the authorities.”Yesterday there was a BJP rally in the city. Whole of Delhi Traffic Police was concentrating on that rally. This gave an opportunity to our Delhi drivers to make a mockery of law. I was passing through a stretch of Kasturba Gandhi Marg between Leo Tolstoy intersection and Outer Circle of CP and all along the road cars were parked. Throughout the stretch they covered half the road space available to them. In fact, they were parked till the white line, which divides the carriageway. Since all traffic cops were busy in traffic arrangements due to BJP’s yatra, all of these drivers were giving law a ball. Why don’t these vehicle owners act responsibly? Another thing that I have observed is that most of these cars were chauffer driven. Most of the owners in Delhi think that a chauffer is to save you from parking fee. I think that this attitude should change and they should instruct their chauffer to park it in parking areas only and not on the roadside.

I received a mail from Satish Sapra who talks about issue of encroachment of public places. He says, “In the issue of TODAY dated 24 November 2004, you have rightly pointed out one of the main causes of traffic jams and unwieldy parking of vehicles in the residential areas of Delhi, is encroachment of public places, be it road or pavement. “In the residential colonies, the illegal encroachment by residents has left very little space for parking. If it is not encroachment, per se, keeping earthen pots blocks it, which further narrows the available road space for public use.“Because of lack of space available for parking, there have been cases of hot exchanges between the neighbours and some times police had to intervene with no permanent solution. The scenes of abuses and fights are very common these days. In one of the cases, the bullets were used. If this continues, time is not far when there will be often cases of murders due to lack of parking space. “Therefore, it is most urgent for the authorities to demolish the encroachments on the main roads as well as in the colonies, in order to ease the situation. RWAs should also play a proactive role to persuade the residents to demolish the encroachments and leave the space for public usage. Your efforts to shake the authorities and the RWAs for this visible solution will be very much appreciated.”Delhi’s biggest problem is of encroachments and I think it is high time that traffic police, DDA and MCD should start looking at it seriously. With a joint effort they can easily get rid of these encroachments from Delhi roads.Traffic AdvisoryBJP is organising a rally and march from Ram Lila Ground to Parliament House today. Traffic will certainly get disrupted due to the march. The Delhi Traffic Police has made elaborate traffic arrangements to ensure that general traffic is not disrupted.In view of the march, the road network around Delhi Gate Crossing i.e., Jawahar Lal Nehru Marg, Subhash Marg, Bahadurshah Zafar Marg and Asaf Ali Road will be closed for all types of traffic during noon hours. No Heavy Goods Vehicle and Light Goods Vehicle shall be allowed on Ring Road between wazirabad Bridge and Nizamuddin Bridge. No slow moving traffic will be allowed to enter Ring Road from East Delhi.Bus services too will get affected. No bus service shall be allowed to ply around Ram Lila Maidan. All buses coming from Mathura Road, Shahjahan oad shall be diverted to take Bhairon Road and join Ring Road to reach their destination.Buses coming from West Delhi via Paharganj Bridge shall be curtailed at Paharganj to resume their return journey.Buses coming from East Delhi and using Delhi Gate crossing to go to Red Fort, Railway Station shall not be allowed to turn left from Rajghat crossing. They will go straight and use New Daryaganj Road.Similarly buses coming from Red Fort, Old Delhi Railway Station via Subhash Marg shall be diverted on New Deryaganj Road to continue their journey on Ring Road. Buses coming from Connaught Place side shall be diverted from Bhav Bhuti Marg to resume their return journey.In view of road closure, the congestion is expected on some roads. Motorists are requested to avoid these roads and use alternative roads to reach their destinations during noon hours.

Rakesh Jaggi has sent another mail where he talks vehicles with tinted glasses. He says, “I would like to emphasise that the private vehicles with tinted glasses must be punished severely. It is very obvious that most of the people using these vehicles take advantage of the non-strictness of the police force for committing different type of criminal acts. I feel very sad and disappointed with the authorities to see these cars plying on the road without any hesitation and committing their wrongdoings. “Let us take this subject very seriously and with loud and clear words at all levels. The authorities must catch the vehicle and note the complete details with immediate cleaning of the dark foils or confiscation of vehicle. I have seen the occupants of these tinted or blackened vehicles waste no time in making mockery of the rules and regulations. Most of the people having these vehicles have premeditated notions and execute the same. “The authorities must not excuse any particular individual to have these black glasses and it should be for one and all. I am sure you will agree with me for immediate and urgent action for this type of problem.” I agree fully with you regarding this matter. Traffic Police should launch a special drive to check these vehicles.Meanwhile, everything has gone fine for the traffic police officials till now. The trade fair was a success, they also have tackled marriage problem, but have you ever thought about the plight of lower constabulary of traffic police. On Sunday night I met few constables at Andheria Mod. I was very touched by the way they were working. One told me that for the past three days they were coming on duty at 5 am and were working till 12.30 at night. And Sunday being the D-day for them, they were not sure when they were going home. One constable had stiches on his eye and he told me that he was supposed to have got them cut on Saturday. But he didn’t get the time to go to the doctor. Another jokingly mentioned that they have to attend the call of nature during duty hours only as their reporting time is very early in the morning. Well, now you can imagine their plight and the circumstances under which they are serving you. So next time you meet them on road, say thank you!

I received another mail from Rakesh Jaggi who had earlier lamented that media has not taken a note of the role played by traffic police during the trade fair. After reading our last Monday’s cover story he said, “I feel it is encouraging for all of us to note the good work of the authorities in regard to the traffic movements and compliment the same. It is very important for all of us to come forward and applause the good work of police as most of the time we are criticising them for their acts without analysing the situation. I am not trying to be biased towards the police force but feel that we should not lose any time to praise and reward their good work for us.“If we all collectively decide to implement the traffic movement formula of trade fair on most of the roads of the city, then very soon we would have the fruitful results. However, it may look very theoretical but one must not forget the positive and effective results in and around the Trade fair. “I would like to suggest that the local authorities must make available some of their Employees for few hours in a week from all ranks in rotation to assist the Traffic police as this type of operation would require a good amount of man power. Also, there should be a system to reward these traffic volunteers for their work and assistance. This type of reward would not only encourage the volunteers but would be good motivation to general public. We all try to take advantage of our system by parking our vehicles on the main roads or controlling the good part of the roads for our personal or commercial use giving a blind eye to the sufferings of thousands of our fellow road users. If the authorities take this matter seriously and implement this in phases then very soon our Delhi would be surely a role model of the Traffic for the whole world.”Well, a welcome advice but only good if it is implemented. I just hope this rule is at least applied on the roads where Metro construction is taking place.

Debashish Panda called me from Noida to talk about traffic problem in Noida. He says, “I stay in Sector 62 in Noida everyday I go to my office situated at Sector 16 A. It is a stretch of 12 kilomteres. In between this stretch there are 5-6 traffic signals but none of them are synchronised. Since it is a major arterial road, the traffic police in Noida should synchronise it so that we get a green channel every time we take it. Presently we have to stop at each red light which consumes so much of our precious time.”Well, frankly speaking Debashish, I don’t know much about how Noida traffic functions. But I know one thing that Delhi Traffic Police is running courses for UP Police who are posted in their traffic department. Since Noida is an important part of National Capital Region of Delhi, so I think the district authorities should be keener to give their residents the same facilities that Delhiites get, be it traffic police or local policing.Things like synchronising the traffic signals can be done easily but someone in the authority has to take an initiative. In terms of roads, Noida is better off than Ghaziabad, where the condition is just pathetic. Even lighting on the streets is a big problem in Ghaziabad, which is a major cause of worry for commuters as it is prone to accidents. Perhaps the Uttar Pradesh government should show some concern in developing Ghaziabad also. Invariably people coming from Meerut, Musoorie, etc. get caught in traffic jams at the Delhi-Ghaziabad border. The district authority should show some respect to commuters by providing better traffic management in border areas. Haryana in those terms is good. Perhaps if travelling on GT Karnal Road, one feels relieved once we enter Haryana as the road conditions are perfect for driving. On the contrary if you enter Delhi from Haryana, miseries of commuters start as the broadening of GT Karnal Road is presently under construction on Delhi side and it will take some time before Delhiites could heave a sigh of relief.

Kailash Nath Jasoriya called me about a year back regarding a traffic problem in his locality. Once again he has called me to tell that situation hasn’t improved. He says, “I stay on Ramjas Road and there is a tikki shop by the name of Sindhi Tikki house. He has encroached on the pedestrian’s path and virtually hijacked the entire place around his shop. Now in the evenings, lot of people come there to have tikkis in their cars due to which there is a huge traffic jam. The problem is that people park their cars on both sides of the road and choke it. Traffic constables and local police look the other way round. Since we stay there, we have to face such a big problem. To cover a distance of just 200 metres, it takes sometimes 20 minutes. We are living in a hell and traffic police should do something about it.”The problem of encroachments is affecting commuters and residents in a huge way in Karol Bagh, Rajinder Nagar and Patel Nagar. Forget about encroachments in old Rajinder Nagar roundabout there are seven odd cars, which are not roadworthy only. Two contessas, one Montana, a burnt Maruti car, ambassadors and fiat are among them which I haven’t seen them even moving in the past one year. Though the beat constables just sit on the roundabout, they haven’t thought of depositing these cars in MCD or even tried to find out their owners. They consume precious parking space in the area.I spoke to the SHO of the area about the problem and he told me “if we remove them, then the owners just appear from somewhere.” The cops should understand the problem of the area, as there is hardly any parking space. People are fighting for it and these useless cars are dumped on the roundabout. To top it all just two weeks back someone dumped a brown contessa car, which is in tatters. And since then it hasn’t been moved from there. I think in all such localities where such cars are dumped, cops should conduct a survey and deposit unused cars with the MCD.

Yesterday, I told you about how well the Delhi Traffic Police is managing traffic at the ongoing India International Trade Fair at Pragati Maidan. However, their glorious achievement has been nullified by other civic agencies. I am pointing out towards lack of proper lighting for pedestrians on Mathura Road. On the persistence of traffic police officials, on Sunday the agencies involved started putting lights for the pedestrians along Mathura Road. Another problem is the lax attitude of MCD. On Friday evening at some stretches, streetlights on Mathura Road at Pragati Maidan conked off. An international level fair is happening at Pragati Maidan, the officers should have ensured that lighting remains proper at that stretch. Forget about making proper arrangements, the streetlights were not even working on Sunday evening. It was a dark affair. Such things should be rectified immediately so that no inconvenience happens to the public. The government should take errant officers to task that are responsible for this.Another important thing that I have noticed is the landscape of South extension has changed considerably for good. Planners have a done a good job here. The location of the subway is perfect and for convenience of the public, the location of the bus stop has also been shifted to entry and exit points of the subway. These two facts have ensured that pedestrian subway is used to the optimum. Usually in Delhi I have noticed subways are located 200 metres away from the actual bus stop, which forces pedestrians to cross the road from the bus stop only. To my notice South Extension is the first place where planners have executed a beautiful job by thinking in the right direction. I hope in future too, they think pragmatically about these solutions. Another important fact is that government should expedite the making of foot-over bridges at proposed places. The second foot-over bridge (FOB) was also built within one month near Bhagwan Das Road-Mathura Road T-point. So why work on other important locations haven’t started yet? It's been two months since Joint Commissioner (Traffic) Qamar Ahmed had shot off a letter to PWD, Engineer-in-chief to start the construction of FOB at Maharani Bagh, Delhi Haat and ISBT. Still nothing has been done. It seems the PWD officials are sleeping on the proposal while the Delhiites are suffering due to their lax behaviour.

After a long time Rakesh Kumar Jaggi has mailed me. He writes, “It is indeed encouraging to see some improvements and change of the mind set of the people towards the traffic-related epidemic. Firstly, I would like to very much appreciate the think tank of traffic control around the trade fair for charting out the realistic plan and implementing it with complete resolve. “I feel sad that our media is not contributing enough towards the improvement of traffic-related problems. I must say that the electronic media is very passive on the subject due to non-glamorous nature of the subject. It is very common of the electronic media to highlight some pick-pocketing incident or other minor crime but not at all bothered about the traffic-related subjects. “It is very sad to see no cheers in any of the electronic media or appreciation of the good efforts and effectiveness of the traffic planning by the concerned authorities. Also, the print media has taken it very lightly inspire of its gigantic nature in general. I strongly feel that the following listed factors are very much instrumental in improvement of traffic in our country.1. The traffic related manners and etiquettes must be taught in primary schools and continued till the professional levels.2. The traffic-related meetings must be held at community centres or even at slum centres or in social centres. Traffic is related to all of us and the repercussions are felt by all of us without any bias. 3. The authorities concerned must work collectively to implement the traffic rules and civic authorities must provide the necessary required support on utmost priority. 4. The need to share and offer sharing in private vehicles must be encouraged with some special appreciation. I am of the strong belief that in fact, we do not have very big traffic problem but it has been made big by all of us. We do not cooperate or coordinate for our own good unless until forced to do so. This is very clear from the movement of the traffic at and around trade fair. We simply do not have driving etiquettes and try to look on others as some one has stolen something. We must think the traffic-related problem as National problem not bound to our cities or towns or states. If, our authorities, media, judiciary and politicians collectively endorse and support this issue then within couple of years, we can be a model for others.“I would like to once again applause the efforts of traffic police and other concerned authorities to show to all of us that nothing is impossible and we are capable of achieving anything and everything.”Well, definitely traffic police deserves applause for their traffic management during trade fair.

Soon the topography of Barakhamba Road will also be changed due to Metro Construction. The work for Dwarka-Barakhamba Road (Line 3) extension will start from December 1. Metro people are presently busy cutting trees on both sides of Barakhamba road as well as breaking the pedestrian’s path in order to expand it. Traffic police claims that traffic will remain unaffected due to the expansion of Barakhamba Road. DCP (Traffic / New Delhi Range) A.S. Cheema says, “We have asked them to provide the same space to motorists as it is now. Since Metro work will be on the middle of the Barakhamba Road, so DMRC is building the road on the sides. But traffic movement won’t be affected.” The only people affected due to this will be those who used to park on the service lanes. The Dwarka-Barakhamba Road Line 3 extension is supposed to have three stations extra viz. Mandi House, Pragati Maidan and I.P. Depot connecting the Ring Road. Mandi House will have an underground station and then in the middle of Sikandra Road, Metro will emerge on the ground. I hope at the Mandi House roundabout, traffic arrangement will be better managed otherwise it will be chaos there. Meanwhile, Sharad Kashyap from Yamuna Vihar has another problem. He says, “Madanpura-Tuglaqabad bridge is very dangerous. There are no bus lanes. Buses drive here at 60-70 kmph. Two to three accidents took place in the last three months. There are no police personnel to check the rash truck drivers. Please help me to get to the authorities.”

Naveen Gupta wrote to me regarding traffic problem in Bhajanpura. He writes, “Bhajan Pura is the starting point for three bus routes. The problem is that in spite of having service roads on both sides of the main road, the buses (both private and DTC) for these routes always stand on the main Wazirabad road and keep one lane completely occupied most of the time. This is because shopkeepers and vendors have encroached upon the service road, especially on left hand side if you are coming from outer ring road to towards Bhajan Pura.“Most of the time drivers park their buses in front of the bus stand also, which is situated hardly 25-30 metres before the red light at Bhajan Pura crossing. Commuters have no option but to wait for buses in between two parked buses or in the middle of the road, which is extremely dangerous.That is not the only problem. Though there is a specific cut-off time for trucks to be plying on city roads, on Wazirabad Road this rule is openly flouted and trucks ply throughout the day.“All this has created a chaotic situation for traffic movement near Bhajan Pura crossing and has increased the risk for everyone on the road. Unfortunately, the traffic police or Delhi Police have not bothered to solve this problem even though there is a traffic police booth at the crossing and Bhajan Pura police station is hardly 50 metres from the main road. I appeal to the concerned authorities to look into the matter. I hope you will make this plea be heard in the corridors of power.”For the traffic problem of North-East Delhi, I spoke to DCP Traffic (New Delhi range) A.S. Cheema. He said that movement of trucks on this road is open round the clock. "However, we are planning to stop the movement of trucks during peak hours. The notification will come out shortly," he added. I hope once it is implemented, situation will be better there. Meanwhile, Sharad Kashyap from Yamuna Vihar has another problem. He says, “Madanpura-Tuglaqabad bridge is very dangerous. There are no bus lanes. Buses drive here at 60-70 kmph. Two to three accidents took place in the last three months. There are no police personnel to check the rash truck drivers. Please help me to get to the authorities.”

Thank god it’s over! The festival season has finished and so has Delhi’s traffic woes. On Wednesday night, it took me almost three hours to get out of Delhi. I was supposed to take the GT road towards Karnal (NH1), but it took me almost three hours before I reached Singhu border that day. I started from Punchkuian Road and then took the Ring Road thinking that flow of traffic would be just fine. On the contrary wherever I went there were jams.Another problem, which can be easily rectified, is on Leo Tolstoy Marg. A central verge is an absolute necessity there as most of the vehicles that have to go towards Janpath cross the road from wherever they like blocking the path of vehicles headed towards Barakhamba or K.G. Marg. This creates an unnecessary jam and it took me half an hour from Janpath intersection to reach Barakhamba intersection. I believe during peak hours these jams are constant phenomena as most of the cars coming out of the adjacent parking areas block the road. If a permanent solution is not possible then dividing the road with ropes can be done as a temporary arrangement during peak hours.Another problem is at Dr K.B Hedgevar (Bye-pass) road connecting ISBT to G.T. Road. Presently expansion of this road is happening and at night driving through this road is extremely dangerous. First of all there are hardly any streetlights at this stretch. At one stretch there are dimly lit tubelights, which hardly cater to the needs of motorists. Only at one stretch there are mercury lights. The construction site is not at all covered. Instead huge boulders are kept on the road, which divide the construction area from the main road. This road is an accident black spot and sees heavy movement of cyclists and two-wheelers apart from the regular trucks and buses. The authorities should take safety measures while construction work is going on this road to avoid accidents