PIL for preventing traffic disruption, HC seeks Delhi's reply

The Delhi High Court today sought the city government's response on a PIL seeking fixing of broken road dividers, repainting zebra crossings and removal of unauthorisedly parked vehicles from roads to prevent traffic disruption as well as for safety of citizens.
A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath asked Delhi government to inform it on the next date of hearing as to what steps it has been taking to maintain the roads and pavements as well as for regulating traffic flow.
Delhi government told the court that a similar matter pertaining to decongesting traffic was already before the Supreme Court.

The bench, however, issued notice to the Delhi government and sought its reply on what was being done to solve the traffic issues in the national capital. It listed the matter for further hearing on January 19.
The court's order came on the plea by Ashish Sharma, a lawyer, who has raised the issues of "rights and safety of pedestrian, inaction of agencies in maintaining the roads, missing zebra crossings, footpaths, dividers, ramps for handicapped persons and inaction of Delhi Police in managing the vehicular traffic..."
He alleged that police takes no action against the vehicles which are parked on main roads and take up multiple lanes and even those parked on pavements and sought that such acts be stopped.

"The issue is where to walk, where to park the vehicles and why the agencies are turning blind to these issues," the petition said.

It also raised the issue of public urination on the roadsides and defacing of walls by posters.
It said that if a kilometre-wise survey of Delhi roads was carried out it can be seen that "all major roads lack basic facilities such as toilets for women, men and disabled".
The petitioner has sought directions to the authorities to "immediately paint, repair and mark the stop lines, lane dividers, zebra crossings across Delhi to aid pedestrians as well as vehicles plying on the roads".