The Hindu : New Delhi News : A non-stop nightmare for Delhi

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Wednesday, Jul 25, 2007
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New Delhi

New Delhi

A non-stop nightmare for Delhi

Staff Reporter

Not enough buses still; chaos on the roads

PHOTO: V. V. KRISHNAN

BUSLOADS OF TROUBLE: The state of affairs in Delhi on Tuesday. –

NEW DELHI: The Capital’s citizens continued to suffer for the fourth day in a row on Tuesday on account of non-availability of buses with only another 350-odd Blueline buses clearing the now mandatory fitness test.

Though 364 of the 558 buses that came over for inspection at the various Delhi Transport Corporation depots on Tuesday were declared “fit to ply on the road”, a Transport Department official said it might take another few days before all the Blueline buses are inspected and normality returns to the city roads.

“Considering the present pace, the situation is expected to normalise only by the beginning of next week. The inspection will continue till this coming Sunday,” said the official.

Inspections are being carried out at 10 DTC depots including Wazirpur, Mayapuri, Hari Nagar, Sriniwaspuri, East Vinod Nagar and Burari Fitness Centre.

Appealing to the commuters not to hang out from the footboards of buses and to the bus drivers to avoid rash driving, Transport Minister Haroon Yusuf said the Government was planning to install Global Positioning System gadgets in the buses to track their movement on the roads.

Reaffirming the Delhi Government’s commitment to streamline the public transport system in the Capital, Mr. Yusuf said the ongoing enforcement drive against Blueline buses would continue, adding that a total of 4,171 stage carriage buses had been checked and 435 impounded so far. Also, 1,836 challans had been issued against 946 buses, he said.

In the absence of an adequate number of buses on the roads, the DTC continues to shoulder the burden. On Monday it carried 40 lakh people, earning Rs. 1.56 crore in revenue.

Despite 200 more Blueline buses joining the fleet on Tuesday, chaos continued to prevail on the roads. “With just one-fourth of the 4,000-odd Blueline buses out on the roads, one can well imagine the state of affairs. Passengers are hardly left with any choice but to travel on footboards,” said Dilbag Singh, a resident of Kalkaji.

“Even after the much-hyped inspection, Blueline buses continue to kill people on the roads. So what purpose did the inspection drive serve apart from causing great inconvenience to daily commuters?” rued Anand Gopal, a Green Park resident who has his office in Connaught Place.

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