The odd-even rule will remain suspended in Delhi today, November 12. To ensure hassle-free commute on the occasion of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had decided to lift off the restrictions on vehicles today. "Several Sikh organisations had met me and demanded that odd-even rules be lifted for November 11 and 12. Thousands of people participate in several programmes on the occasion of Guru Nanak Dev's birth anniversary.
"In view of this, the Delhi government has decided that there will be no odd-even restrictions on vehicles on November 11-12," News Agency PTI quoted Arvind Kejriwal as saying.
In order to put a curb on Delhi's pollution level, CM Kejriwal had announced odd-even scheme, which was put into effect by the Delhi government between 4th and 15th November for 12 hours every day between 8 am and 8 pm. The restrictions on vehicles are not applicable on Sundays.
The government maintains that due to odd-even rule, nearly 15 lakh of the total 30 lakh vehicles remain off roads everyday, PTI reported.
This is the third time that the Delhi government has put the rule into effect with the earlier two being in 2016.
The odd-even is a road rationing system in which vehicles with registration number ending with even digits—0, 2, 4, 6 and 8—are allowed to run on even dates, and those ending with odd numbers 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 will ply on odd dates. Two-wheelers and electric vehicles have been exempted from the restrictions, but not CNG vehicles.
Women-only vehicles with children aged up to 12 years and vehicles occupied by physically-disabled persons are exempted. Twenty-nine categories of vehicles, including those of president, prime minister, emergency and enforcement vehicles, have been exempted.