There is every bit of a possibility that you wouldn’t believe it when you hear it for the first time. Yes… the Delhi authorities have decided to fine pedestrians violating traffic norms and rules. So keep aside Rs. 200 if you are still determined to wade your way through the traffic. You’ve been used to thinking that these kinds of things happen only with vehicle owners. The move, however, comes after the figures revealed that every second death through accidents in Delhi involved pedestrians violating traffic rules (the authorities probably forgot that each of these incidents involved vehicles also). The Delhi Traffic Police is starting a drive at some of the busiest intersections of the city to infuse traffic discipline in the pedestrians.

It has been observed that people usually avoid using subways to cross the road although it takes years to construct these underground crossings and costs huge sums of money to maintain. Some of the pedestrians point out that the subways have been built keeping the convenience of construction bodies in mind rather than that of the pedestrians. The Delhi Traffic Police also plans to use ex-army personnel to report traffic violations and NCC cadets to ensure smooth vehicular movement on the city roads.

A challan will be issued to violators, which will be sent to the courts. The Delhi Traffic Police sees the drive as an attempt to educate the people and expects people not to perceive this as a punishment. You may ask why is this drive not being launched across all of Delhi? Well, the city still lacks adequate infrastructure and the pedestrians cannot be fined for walking on the road when there is no footpath. There are areas where there are no subways or overbridges, so people are forced to cross roads through the traffic.