The Hindu : New Delhi News : Another harrowing day for commuters in Delhi

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Thursday, Jul 26, 2007
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New Delhi

Another harrowing day for commuters in Delhi

Staff Reporter

Just one-third of the 3,900-odd Blueline buses on the roads

346 Blueline buses inspected yesterday and 226 cleared
Inspection of speed governors, braking system and permits

NEW DELHI: With just one-third of the 3,900-odd Blueline buses plying on the Capital’s roads on Wednesday, it was another harrowing day for commuters.

Transport Minister Haroon Yusuf said 346 Blueline buses were inspected on Wednesday and 226 were declared “fit to ply”. With this, a total of 1,516 Blueline buses are out on the roads now. Meanwhile, inspections are being carried out at ten DTC depots across the city.

“The pace of inspection shows that the Government is indifferent to the plight of lakhs of commuters who are forced to spend long hours at the bus stops.

“Knee-jerk reaction”

The inspection drive seems to be a knee-jerk reaction on the part of the authorities and little thought has gone into it,” said Vikas Verma, a resident of Mehrauli.

The Delhi Government on Saturday had grounded the Blueline fleet for two days for a thorough inspection to determine the condition of their speed governors, braking system and validity of permits. However, later it was decided to extend the inspection drive up to this coming Sunday.

“A one-time inspection is not an answer to the larger problem of rash driving and over-speeding Blueline buses. The greater challenge would be to ensure that these buses continue to adhere to the traffic regulations once they are back on the roads,” said Harpal Singh Bedi of Munirka on Wednesday.

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