New Delhi: The traffic signal turned red and, for a few seconds, the road was theirs. Five to six personnel from the traffic police and transport department quickly moved between vehicles, checking registration numbers and stopping those that appeared to violate Delhi’s new entry rules.
Between Jan 1 and Oct 20, Delhi Traffic Police issued over 4.4 lakh challans for PUCC violations. Two-wheelers accounted for 77.1% (3.4 lakh), while cars made up 19.6% (86,450) of the vehicles. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Delhi | Silver Rate in Delhi | Bank Holidays in Delhi | Public Holidays in Delhi | Delhi AQI | Weather in Delhi | Petrol Price in Delhi | Diesel Price in Delhi | CNG Price in Delhi | LPG Price in Delhi Stay updated with the latest Delhi news.
The moment the light turned green, a stream of vehicles from Noida began moving again. The team was left with two choices: Wait for the next red light to resume checks or risk adding to the congestion on an already crowded stretch. Download the TOI App.
This was the scene at 10 am Monday at Kalindi Kunj border, where enforcing Delhi’s new vehicle restrictions was proving easier said than done. At Mayur Vihar border, enforcement teams turned back around 40 vehicles by noon. The signal was closed at 9:30 am as vehicle numbers surged, leaving personnel with less room to stop commuters. Around 500 pumps have been equipped with ANPR cameras, scanners and public announcement systems to flag violations.
Because of congestion, posters announcing the curbs — non-BS-VI vehicles from other states are barred — were put up on one of the barricades, but it had to be moved aside. Unlike cars and two-wheelers seemingly lost in a sea of traffic, the vehicle was easy to spot.
Sources on the ground said most of the vehicles caught without valid PUCCs were two-wheelers, while cars accounted for fewer cases. Car owners appeared to be more aware of the new restrictions, they said. I was going to work in a residential colony,” he said. It’s hard luck that I got picked,” he said. Sumil, who was fined, said he would get his PUCC renewed. A transport department official is deployed at the outlet, but pump staff said monitoring remained tough as employees were primarily busy dispensing fuel.
With a large number of commuters pouring into the capital, there was little room to stop vehicles without holding up those behind them. Sunday offered the enforcement teams a relatively easy start. With fewer vehicles on the roads, the personnel had more room to stop commuters and check whether their vehicles were compliant. Monday was a different story. With lakhs of vehicles using interstate crossings, checking each one was out of the question. Personnel had to make the most of the few seconds when signals stopped traffic. In that rush, getting picked for a check came down to sheer bad luck. Sahil, who was stopped on his motorcycle, was challaned for not having a valid Pollution Under Control Certificate (PUCC). He was not the only two-wheeler rider facing action. A little further along, Wasim’s tractor caught the enforcement team’s attention. He was stopped and turned back. “I had no idea about the rule. Maybe I missed it. But even here, checks had to make way for traffic. The teams had to wait for traffic to ease before they could step up the checks again. At Chilla border, senior citizen Bhupinder Chawla was among those who were stopped. He lives in Paschim Vihar but has a BS-IV vehicle with a UP registration number. “What can I do if my vehicle has a UP number plate? It does not mean I am not a Delhi resident. I am showing my Aadhaar and everything to the traffic personnel. How do I reach home now? At Gurgaon border, during peak hours, barricades were enough to slow down vehicles, leaving little room for personnel to further stem the flow by stopping them individually. Ghazipur faced a similar situation. For teams on the ground, every check came with a trade-off. Stop more vehicles and risk bringing traffic to a standstill, or let them pass and risk missing violations. With a handful of personnel facing a relentless stream of commuters, enforcing the new rules was not simply about spotting non-compliant vehicles. It was about finding the few seconds in which they could safely stop one. Weak Links At Petrol Pumps Petrol pumps, too, faced their own enforcement challenges. Under the ‘No PUCC, No Fuel’ rule, vehicles without a valid certificate cannot tank up in Delhi. The process, however, is not foolproof. At several pumps TOI visited Monday, its success depended on whether cameras read number plates, scanners flagged violations, speakers worked and staff acted on alerts. At a pump near the zoo, the announcement system was reportedly out of order for months, but has been working for the past two weeks. Yet, during TOI ’s visit, a car’s number was flagged only after it had been refuelled. A staffer wondered whether two-wheelers were being consistently stopped.