Sorry, what does that mean? Chaos, confusion & snarls mark Day 1 of Delhi’s non-BS 6 ban; 2,768 vehicles turned away

NEW DELHI: Barricades snapped shut, whistles pierced the air, and confusion spread quickly across Delhi's borders Thursday morning as a rule barring non-Delhi, non-BS 6 vehicles came into force under GRAP Stage IV. Routine entry points rapidly turned into impromptu checkposts, catching many commuters off guard during peak hours.

Traffic slowed to a crawl as police stopped vehicles bumper to bumper and scanned registration certificates, calling out "BS 6?", and scribbling details into handwritten registers. Drivers waited inside idling cars, watching the line inch forward, unsure whether they would be allowed to proceed or forced to turn back.


Across 13 main borders from Kapashera to Badarpur, till 4pm, 2,768 vehicles were checked for compliance with BS 6 norms, of which 460 were turned back. Most vehicles were turned back at Najafgarh (175), Sarita Vihar/Kalindi Kunj (93), and Badarpur (33). Fewer vehicles were sent back at Narela (9) and Kapashera (8).

At the Noida-Kalindi Kunj border, around 30 cars were turned back between 9.30am and 10.30am, officials said. Each U-turn created fresh snarls metres away from the barricades, and compounding congestion on already clogged stretches.

BS-VI: Some caught unawares, others fume

Many commuters said the ban, announced on Tuesday, was enforced without warning. Dipak and his wife set out early from Pari Chowk in Greater Noida, hoping for a smooth drive towards Khatu Shyam for darshan, confidently following the route suggested by Google Maps. The journey was uneventful, until they reached Kalindi Kunj.

A traffic policeman asked them to pull over, checked the vehicle details, and informed them that their car was BS V and not registered in Delhi. "We genuinely didn't know about the rule," Dipak said. "Google Maps showed this route, so we came. Now we have to go back 27km to Pari Chowk and start all over again. It's very disappointing."

They were not alone. Just a few lanes away, Brigadier Chawla faced a similar setback while travelling with his daughter, who had arrived from the US, to their hometown in Haryana.

The situation eased after peak hours as traffic volumes fell. Enforcement continued till late into the evening.

Traffic cops said it was tough "stopping vehicles, checking them, and controlling traffic simultaneously". Some 37 Prakhar vans and more than 500 traffic police personnel were deployed across major border points and key internal stretches. "We managed to stop and check vehicles to some extent, while also helping people understand the rules," a traffic cop said. One person taking his father to dialysis had to be turned back, said a cop.

As the day passed, and frustration coursed through the serpentine crawl of vehicles, commuters questioned the way the order was communicated. "There are people who don't follow the news regularly. How are they supposed to know?" asked Anil Kumar, a real estate professional. "Why couldn't the transport department send automated SMS or WhatsApp alerts? Anyway, it's not like every car can be checked-there are just too many." Others admitted they were unsure about emission categories and struggled to understand whether their vehicles were BS IVor BS VI.

Similar scenes unfolded at the Mayur Vihar and Ghazipur borders too. When Poonam's car was stopped at Mayur Vihar's Chilla border, her driver quickly stepped out, fumbling with documents. "Arey, it's a petrol car," she told the policeman, visibly puzzled. When infor-med it still wasn't BS VI compliant, she paused and asked, "Sorry, what does that mean?" Eventually, she took a U-turn, adding, "Maybe it's a good move. We'll take another car next time."

Others were confident until checks proved otherwise, and far less accepting. Praveen Kumar discovered his Camry met BS IV norms, not BS IV. "I was sure it was compliant," he said, shaking his head in disbelief as he turned back.

Advocate Vijay Mittal, who was stopped while heading to court, said he was aware of the order but did not realise his diesel BS IVcar would be barred. Ghaziabad resident Dr Pushkar Verma, travelling from Jaipur to report for duty at GTB Hospital, was also turned back. "My car is 10 years old. I didn't think this would be an issue. I'll now have to take the Metro," he said.

While cops turned back even those with genuine needs, questions lingered about the practicality of the exercise. At Kalindi Kunj, around 11 traffic personnel were deployed, while vehicle volumes during the morning peak can touch nearly 200,000, sources said. At Mayur Vihar, 7-9 were on duty, again vastly outnumbered by the flow of vehicles. With barricades and mid-way U-turns in place, congestion mounted rapidly.

Transport expert Anil Chhikara called the ban "premature", and said enforcement would inevitably be compromised, given the poor manpower. "Turning vehicles back at borders only leads to idling and higher emissions. Pollution in the NCR is a regional problem and treating it as only a Delhi issue won't help," he said.