Traffic cops on Dwarka drive, book 2,300

Over 250 traffic cops descended on Dwarka City and prosecuted over 2,300 drivers for violating traffic rules as part of a massive drive between 6 am and 9 pm on Thursday.

‘‘Of these, 209 were for over-speeding, 230 for improper parking, 780 for jumping red lights and 19 for dangerous driving. The cops had stationed themselves at every intersection, crossroad and market,’’ said Rupinder Kumar, deputy commissioner of police (traffic), southern range.

‘‘We chose Dwarka because the area has wide roads and overcrowded markets. It records a high rate of violations and accidents. Our aim was to sensitise people about traffic rules,’’ said SN Shrivastava, joint commissioner of police (traffic).

‘‘The traffic situation here is quite erratic with bikers leading the pack of law violators. They don’t wear helmets and overspeed. Also call centre drivers are involved in many accidents.’’

The drive took many Dwarka residents by surprise. Seeing so many cops in their area, many thought it was because of some VIP movement but later learnt that it was a traffic drive. Dr Sunita, who was coming from Gurgaon to Sector 23 Dwarka fought tooth an nail to avoid paying the challan for overspeeding. ‘‘I was not overspeeding. They challaned me for speeding at 64 km/hr on an empty stretch. They were not intercepting people yesterday. There are also no warning signs,’’ she pleaded.

However, some were unperturbed and quite happy that the fine was reduced. Kuldeep Paliwar, driving a black Scorpio, said: ‘‘It doesn’t burn that big a hole in my pocket now. The cops are just doing their job.’’

A teacher was fined for parking in a no-parking zone. ‘‘They cut a challan of Rs 100. I just stopped for a few seconds. This is completely unexpected. We get to know New traffic rules everyday,’’ said Jyoti Verma, a teacher at Saint Mary School.

Meanwhile, the drive against jaywalking and autos continued in the city. The traffic police prosecuted 116 pedestrians and 313 auto drivers in CP on Thursday. Said DCP traffic, New Delhi range, Ashish Chaudhary: ‘‘A total of 313 autos were prosecuted on five radial roads leading to the outer circle between 3 and 5 pm. We randomly stopped auto-rickshaws and asked passengers if they were going by meter rates. In case of violation, the auto-driver was prosecuted on the spot.’’