Chidambaram Urges Delhiites to Change Behaviour

In a message ahead of Commonwealth Games next year, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has asked the Delhiites to change the way they behave.

Substantiating his point, the minister said that Germany and China had made tremendous efforts to change their citizens’ habits before the two countries hosted the mega sporting events.

“We cannot expect mega city policing function properly if people do not change their behaviour. We still find vehicles jumping red lights and police vehicles are not excluded, they too jump red lights,” he said at a function in New Delhi to inaugurate 22 newly-created police stations.

“Then there are vehicles running without registration plates, some are crossing roads where they should not. People are not using overground or underground passes. We want to encourage people to change their mindset,” the minister said.

Chidambaram’s comments came following Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit’s statement at a function that her government was launching a campaign to change the way the people behave so that they become more caring and sharing.

Chidambaram said that people should seize the opportunity presented by the Commonwealth Games to change their behaviour.

“People come to Delhi. This is the capital and we cannot stop people. But if they come to Delhi, they themselves will have to adhere to the behavioural requirement, the discipline of the city,” he said.

“We must behave as citizens of a big, good international city,” he said.

Noting that people in the national capital do not abide by traffic rules, the minister said that the national capital needs to change its mindset.

He noted that Germany had initiated a three-year programme to change the behavioural pattern of its citizens before it organised Football world cup while China ran maximum number of teaching programmes before Olympics.