Roadmap being developed to reduce traffic in Delhi and Bengaluru

The government is developing a multi-modal transport infrastructure plan to help New Delhi and Bengaluru's highways, which are among the world's two most congested cities. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and the German Agency for International Cooperation are working on the proposed plan, which will be implemented in the upcoming months. One important aspect of the strategy is that demand will be taken into account for both the goods and passenger transport sectors. This is important since most city planning focuses on moving passengers, despite goods traffic in urban settlements being a key contributor to congestion. Local administrations, or even the urban development ministry, can pick these models for cities and adopt them appropriately. In many places, traffic congestion is a serious problem. The notorious roads of Bengaluru made news late last month when a stand-up comic Trevor Noah performance caused massive traffic jams, causing the traffic police to issue a travel warning. The hours that trucks and other large vehicles can travel within municipal boundaries are typically restricted in most cities.