Police opt out of NHAI restriction on bikers

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has issued an advisory to restrict the entry of two-wheelers on the Delhi-Gurgaon expressway. Traffic police, however, have refused to be a part of the drive.

According to the original agreement between the concessionaire Millennium City Expressways Pvt Ltd (MCEPL) and NHAI, the entry of two-wheelers is not allowed on the expressway. NHAI, therefore, asked the concessionaire to follow the clause, restricting two-wheeler entry on the main carriageway, starting from Monday.

The idea is to appoint traffic marshals who will refuse entry to bikers, and brief them about the rule. However, those in charge of implementing the decision, feel the advisory is not really feasible.

A senior official of Skylark Securitas Private Limited said it was not practical because marshals standing at the entry and exit points may end up blocking traffic on the highway. "Bikers trying to dodge marshals may meet with accidents. Who will check the bikers coming from Delhi? Also, beyond Rajiv Chowk, the service lane paves the way for two-way traffic, which means that bikers are prone to accidents there. We have to consider all these factors while throwing them off the highway," he said. According to sources, NHAI has asked the concessionaire to give the arrangement a week's try. The concessionaire plans to launch the trial on September 13, during which bikers will be informed about the restriction. The concessionaire will then take it up with the traffic police, asking them to issue challans during the week.

"It is up to the police as to when they want to start. We will provide all assistance required like manpower, recovery vans, land to park impounded vehicles, etc," Ashok Sharma, press representative at NHAI, said.

"We neither received any correspondence from anyone on this nor will we be a part of it. There is no mention in the Motors Vehicles Act about restriction on two-wheelers on the national highway. We are not bound to obey the concessionaire agreement and we work according to the law," said JCP (traffic) Bharti Arora.

Source: TOI