The Delhi government’s strict enforcement of the "No PUC, No Fuel" campaign, aimed at curbing air pollution, continued for a second consecutive day. While the administration succeeded in enforcing the rule that denies fuel to vehicles without a valid Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate, the day was marred by technical glitches and long queues.
Server Outage Causes Chaos
A sudden surge in demand for PUC certificates led to a significant technical failure.
System Failure: The server used for issuing certificates crashed and remained down in many locations from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm.
Impact: This caused severe inconvenience. Motorists formed long queues at petrol pumps, waiting first to get their pollution levels checked and then to refuel.
Public Reaction: Rama Shankar, a motorist waiting in Preet Vihar (East Delhi), stated that he could secure neither a PUC certificate nor petrol due to the outage. "The government should strengthen its servers as the problem of them going down is a frequent occurrence," he noted.
Enforcement Statistics
The administration has released data regarding the crackdown on polluting vehicles:
Last 24 Hours (Day 2):
11,776 vehicles were fined for violating pollution norms.
542 lorries were prevented from entering the city and turned back.
Day 1 Context:
- 61,000 people had their PUC checked (a significant jump from the daily average of 30,000).
- 5,000 vehicles were physically inspected.
- 3,746 vehicles without valid PUCs were fined.
- 568 vehicles were sent back.
- 217 non-destination vehicles were turned back from the Eastern and Western Peripheral Expressways.
Border Restrictions And Checks
A ban remains in effect for commercial and private vehicles registered outside Delhi that are below BS-VI emission standards (excluding those carrying essential goods). More than 100 teams from the Traffic Police and Delhi Police have been deployed at the borders.
Enforcement Tactics: Police personnel are stopping vehicles based on suspicion or using barricades. A "pay the fine or go back" policy is being adopted in many areas.
Kalindi Kunj (Noida Route): Approximately 100 vehicles were turned back on the second day, down from 200 on the first day, indicating increased driver awareness.
Badarpur And Faridabad Route: Barricades are set up near the Badarpur toll plaza. Notably, the Haryana Police are also active 300 metres before the border, turning back non-compliant vehicles via a U-turn.
East Delhi (Ghazipur, Apsara, Chilla Borders): Police are strictly stopping non-BS-VI vehicles entering from Uttar Pradesh, causing traffic slowdowns.
- Note: Checks are not being conducted on the main Delhi-Meerut Expressway as stopping vehicles there is deemed dangerous.
Leakages: While main entry points are guarded, reports suggest some vehicles are still entering Delhi via alternative routes.
Situation At Petrol Pumps
Authorities are utilising modern technology, including scanning and sound boxes, to instantly verify certificate validity.
Dwarka (West Delhi): Heavy crowds were reported at pumps in Sector-9, Sector-6, and Sector-20. As this area is close to Gurugram, traffic was heavy. Drivers with expired certificates had to wait up to 30 minutes in queues at on-site testing centres before refuelling.
South Delhi: Similar strictness was observed, with fuel being denied to non-compliant vehicles. Local police and Transport Department officials remained stationed at these pumps to oversee the process.
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