The Hindu : New Delhi News : Blueline buses stay off the roads

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Thursday, Jul 12, 2007
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New Delhi

Blueline buses stay off the roads

Staff Reporter

Their absence triggers a shortage of buses, causing great hardship all round

Photo: S. Subramanium

Stranded: As the crackdown on Blueline buses continued on Wednesday, daily commuters had a difficult time waiting for DTC buses in New Delhi.

NEW DELHI: With the crackdown on errant Blueline buses continuing for the second day in a row on Wednesday, most bus operators in the Capital chose to keep their vehicles off the road, triggering a huge shortage of buses and causing great hardship to daily commuters.

Officer-goers were the worst hit with very few buses on the road in the morning, forcing many to look towards other forms of transport like auto-rickshaws, taxis and the Metro railway. Taking full advantage of the chaos arising out of shortage of buses, auto-rickshaw drivers charged exorbitantly from the commuters.

“I reached the Vasundhra Enclave bus stop around 10 in the morning to catch a bus to my office at ITO. But buses were nowhere in sight. After waiting for half-an-hour, I approached an auto-rickshaw driver who demanded Rs.150. On a normal day an auto-rickshaw can be hired for even Rs. 50,” said Sadhna Verma, who finally managed to get a bus after an hour-long wait.

It took Vineet Khare more than two hours to reach Connaught Place from Pandav Nagar, a journey which takes less than an hour on a normal day. “A never-ending wait for buses and traffic jams made commuting a nightmare,” said Vineet. Ekta, a resident of Lajpat Nagar, had a similar story to tell. She had to take an auto-rickshaw to Pragati Maidan after waiting for more than an hour for a bus.

Meanwhile, Delhi Traffic Police officials together with Transport Department staff fanned out across the Capital and prosecuted Blueline buses for various offences, including violation of permit rules, over-speeding and rash and negligent driving. On Tuesday, 821 buses were prosecuted and 119 impounded by the traffic police. Ninety-five buses were issued challans for violating the Supreme Court directives and 74 were prosecuted for permit violations.

The State Transport Department issued 208 challans and impounded 79 Blueline buses. While 200 buses were prosecuted for permit violations, 26 for plying without certificate of fitness and 13 for not having the mandatory Pollution Under Control certificate. Similarly, 52 drivers were found driving without licence and 84 without badges.

Three accidents were also reported in the morning rush hours. An unidentified teenager was injured when he fell off an overcrowded bus in Hari Nagar, while 52-year-old Ram Kirpal Pandey was seriously injured near the Mahrana Pratap ISBT after he was knocked down by a Blueline bus plying between Anand Vihar and Mori Gate. In East Delhi, 19-year-old Mohit hurt his ankle when he slipped from a Blueline bus on Vikas Marg in the morning.

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