Delhi traffic police have thought up a unique initiative to promote pedestrian safety, offering a prize of 5,000 rupees ($95) for those using footbridges in the capital.
The initiative, which was launched on Jan. 1 as part of Road Safety Week, received a “huge response,” said Satyendra Garg, joint commissioner of Delhi’s traffic police. “We were able to distribute 19,998 coupons to the people during this week,” he told India Real Time.
The coupons were distributed on footbridges outside the Income Tax Office near Pragati Maidan and in Anand Vihar, both of which are busy traffic areas, said Mr. Garg. Traffic police officials stationed in these spots handed out coupons to pedestrians during the peak hours of 8am to 11am and 5pm to 9pm, he said.
Not all pedestrians, of course, received 5,000 rupees for using footbridges over Delhi’s roads. The recipient of the prize was decided by a lucky draw, which was made on Saturday. But the lucky winner hasn’t yet claimed the award, Mr. Garg said, adding that the reason was probably because it was announced on a weekend. The winning coupon number is 6401, Mr. Garg said.
While it’s yet to be ascertained how successful the initiative was, there are plans to extend the scheme and make it a monthly affair. Such desperate measures are perhaps needed, given that Delhi is the most unsafe city in India for pedestrians, according to government records, which show 534 pedestrians were killed on the capital’s roads in 2010.
“We have yet to finalize the plan but most probably we would continue this initiative,” Mr. Garg said, adding that traffic police would start distributing coupons from Monday next week and will announce a winner in early February. One or two footbridges will be randomly selected for the scheme.
