NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) jointly carried out a city-wide drive against encroachments and unauthorised parking to reclaim road space, improve pedestrian safety, ease traffic congestion and promote the use of designated parking facilities.
The special enforcement drive was conducted across all traffic circles and ranges from June 3 to June 6. It targeted major arterial roads, market areas, footpaths, service lanes, designated parking influence zones and other traffic-sensitive locations where illegal occupation of public spaces and unauthorised parking were disrupting traffic movement and posing safety risks, said Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic Headquarters) Vijayanta Goyal Arya.
In the first week of June alone, action was taken at 144 locations across the national capital. During the operation, authorities removed 1,264 rehri-patra encroachments from roads and footpaths and cleared 1,015 temporary kiosks, illegal extensions, unauthorised commercial displays and other obstructive structures.
“Market spill-over, roadside vending and illegal parking reduce the effective width of roads and create congestion during peak hours. Unauthorised parking occupies usable carriageway space, reduces the effective width of the road and discourages the use of nearby designated parking facilities,” Arya mentioned.
The drive also led to the removal of 3,123 abandoned or illegally parked vehicles that were obstructing carriageways and footpaths. In addition, 55,532 enforcement actions were initiated against motorists and other violators found hindering traffic flow.
A key focus of the campaign was to improve the utilisation of designated parking facilities by discouraging roadside
parking and encouraging motorists to use authorised parking spaces. According to the police, unauthorised encroachments and improper parking on roads and footpaths are not merely civic violations; they directly affect road safety, pedestrian movement, road capacity and emergency response.
Special Commissioner of Police (traffic) Manish Aggarwal said commuters should refrain from parking vehicles on undesignated public roads, places and footpaths, as it hampers the movement of both vehicles and pedestrians.
He urged citizens to use designated parking lots developed by civic agencies and appealed to RWAs, MWAs and the public at large to cooperate with the traffic police and civic authorities.
MCD Commissioner inspects Civil Lines zone
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi Commissioner Sanjeev Khirwar inspected various parts of the Civil Lines zone on Tuesday and reviewed the sanitation and pollution control work. He inspected the Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste plant at Jahangirpuri, which has a capacity of 2000 TPD. He also directed that sheets be installed around the plant and water sprinklers be set up to control dust.