The Hindu : New Delhi News : BRT corridor will go if it has to go: Sheila

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Friday, Apr 25, 2008
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BRT corridor will go if it has to go: Sheila

Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Government will first adopt a multi-pronged strategy to rectify the inherent faults in the Bus Rapid Transit corridor, but should they fail to yield the desired results it would not fight shy of scrapping the project altogether, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has said.

“There is no ego involved in the issue. We had tried to bring to Delhi a modern, new public transportation concept. But now that it is facing some serious problems, we would try to rectify them first and should that fail we will not hesitate to revert to the old system,” she told The Hindu.

The Chief Minister, who had called a high-level meeting over the issue on Tuesday, admitted that some of those involved in the planning and execution of the project had not done their job properly. “To begin with, RITES that was entrusted with the feasibility study had submitted its report without taking a lot of ground realities into consideration. Then other agencies involved in signalling and installation of signboards have also not performed up to the mark,” she said.

In fact, Ms. Dikshit added, one senior official of these companies who was to come from Mumbai had not turned up for the past one year.

Also, while stating that the pulse of the signalling system should have been more in tune with the actual needs of both motorists and pedestrians in the corridor, Ms. Dikshit said the failure of the traffic police to challan people violating the lanes had added to the chaos.

“The traffic police has been instructed to challan all those violating the lanes. However, they have been told not to stop them in the lanes, but to challan them in open areas further ahead or to send the challans to their homes,” she said.

Low-floor buses

Ms. Dikshit disclosed that about 100 low-floor DTC buses would be pressed into service in the BRT corridor to provide a quick and efficient transport to the public. On the other hand, along with Blueline buses, commercial goods vehicles will not be allowed in the BRT corridor during peak morning and evening hours.

And to inform people about how to use the lanes, huge signboards depicting different kinds of vehicles would be installed over the corridor very soon to guide motorists to the correct lane.

“On Saturday, April 26, we will review the progress on various counts. We are hopeful of finding real solutions and are determined to ameliorate the grievances of all kinds of road users. However, should the problems persist, we would revert to the old form of vehicular movement in the area,” she declared.

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