The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation has initiated a multi-pronged strategy to reduce traffic congestion.
The BJP-controlled municipal corporation in Ahmedabad is planning to take a cue from the Arvind Kejriwal government in Delhi. Even before the efficacy of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government's odd-even formula in the capital is established, Ahmedabad is planning to reduce the number of cars on the roads by a fifth every day using a similar formula in the coming months.
The city has seen a drastic increase in the vehicle density with over 10 lakh vehicles registered in the city in the last five years. In the last one year alone, over two lakh vehicles were added to the city's roads leading to a rise in pollution.
The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation has initiated a multi-pronged strategy to reduce traffic congestion. One of the steps is similar Delhi's odd-even formula with the civic body intending to take certain numbered vehicles off the road on a daily basis. "Around 20 per cent of the vehicles will be off the road daily. 1 or 2 numbers will be chosen say for instance from Monday through Friday, which effectively takes off 20 per cent of the cars off the roads. Besides, we will be carrying out micro planning to manage traffic,'' said Ahmedabad Municipal Commissioner, D Thara.
The civic body also intends to add more public transport options in the next few months apart from taking cars off roads. "Our BRTS has been a prime and successful public transport mechanism and we intend to take other steps to strengthen the public transport system,'' she said.
The civic body has already initiated talks with the traffic and transport authorities and also awareness campaigns before implementing the plan. But for the commuters on the road, it could mean some relief from traffic jams.