The controversial Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor project has now been challenged under the Right to Information Act(RTI). UndertheRTIAct2004,the home ministry has been questioned which are the agencies and departments and officials responsible for clearing the project. It has also been asked what is the basis on which the project has been termed a public welfare activity while thousand of commuters have been facing difficulties due to this project in the Capital.
With the Delhi Government ordering phasing out of Blueline buses from the much talked about Bus Rapid Transit corridor with effect from Thursday, most commuters travelling on the new stretch had something to cheer about. Not only was the bus lane free of traffic on Thursday, the Delhi Transport Corporation's new low-floor bus fleet also became an instant hit with commuters travelling in the corridor.
Thursday presented a now familiar picture of chaos and congestion at the 5.6 kilometre-long BRT stretch. While traffic pile-ups showed no signs of abating, despite certain traffic marshals claiming that they had reduced, numerous motorists plied in wrong lanes with no threat of penalty. Pedestrians, meanwhile, continued to cross helter skelter, with no regard for signals or zebra crossings.
With no feeders, BRT goes nowhere We asked our readers if they would dump their cars to take buses in the BRT corridor. A majority of them have rejected the idea saying the entire project is unjustified and unwanted and should be scrapped immediately No one can dare to dump cars
Pilot Stretch Cost About Rs 60 Cr, Cure More Expensive The state government is determined to continue its dreary plod along the BRT. It has asked the transport department and DIMTS to make it work at any cost, even consider options like constructing a Rs 200-odd crore flyover to buttress the Rs 60-crore pilot stretch.
A DTC bus crashed into a bus shelter near Press Enclave on the pilot BRT corridor on Thursday. Said Anil Kumar Gupta, a traffic marshal who witnessed the incident:
There is some respite coming the way for commuters stuck in unending traffic jams on the pilot Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor. By the end of the week, five airconditioned buses will start plying on four routes traversing the length of the 5.6 km long corridor. Incidentally, this is the first time the Capital will have state-run AC buses plying as part of the bus-based public transport fleet.
Desperate Govt Proposes Road Widening, Grade Separator & Intelligent Traffic Signals At their wit's end in dealing with the heavy traffic volume on the BRT corridor which continues to be marked by jams and delays, the government has initiated a slew of measures to make the corridor work at any cost. The latest are road widening at the Siri Fort intersection, construction of a grade separator on Outer Ring Road and intelligent traffic signals throughout the corridor.
Angry over the mess in the BRT corridor and the mounting opposition to it in an election year, CM Sheila Dikshit had announced that work on the rest of the stretch and the other proposed five corridors would be discontinued till the glitches were removed from the pilot stretch. But commuters who daily emerge bruised and battered from the pilot stretch have been increasingly feeling dismayed by the work on the rest of the stretch that shows no signs of being called off.
