: That the bus rapid transit (BRT) corridor is a perennial nightmare was proved once again on Tuesday morning when two passengers of a Blueline were injured after the driver, while trying to save a pedestrian who had strayed in the bus lane, swerved the bus into a railing near Pushp Vihar.

Pedestrians Flout Rules, Snarl-Ups Continue Even after a Blueline bus rammed into a railing near Pushpa Bhawan in the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor while trying to save a man running in the dedicated bus lane, scores of pedestrians continued to run before buses and cross the road at will in other parts of the 5-km stretch. A good 10 days after trial runs began on the corridor, road users displayed no sense of discipline as pedestrians and private vehicle drivers alike flouted rules putting themselves and others around at the risk of accidents.

A mechanical snag in a vehicle on much-criticised corridor has caused a major traffic jam near Panchsheel Enclave on Ambedkar Nagar-Moolchand corridor this morning. There was no arrangement of cranes to remove the vehicle from the car track. It was 10.20 am when the Tata Sumo stopped on the track due to some snag. The driver tried to restart the vehicle but he could not. Finally the occupants of the Sumo pushed the vehicle on the cycle track. By the time it was removed from the track, there was jam from Panchsheel to Moolchand flyover.

The chaos created by BRT in New Delhi has panicked the Rajasthan Government, which has decided to send a team of official to the national to study of the situation as similar system is being introduced in the State capital. The decision to this effect was taken at a high-level meeting on Tuesday and it was felt that, if some changes in implementation of the scheme are required, could be carried at this initial stage.

This has reference to the comment, "Just nix it', by Chandan Mitra, and the news report, "Commuters abandon BRT as Govt won't', by Neha Attre (April 26). The Pioneer was the first newspaper to predict the failure of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project in Delhi. Its apprehensions have proved true in a short span of time

Beginning Thursday, Blueline buses will not run on Ambedkar Nagar to Moolchand Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor. The move will affect almost thousands of daily commuters who commute on these Bluelines due to inadequate Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses. Presently, 80 Blueline buses ply on this corridor, ferrying thousand of passengers from the BRT stretch every day.

The countdown has begun for chopping three more trees on the ITO - Delhi Gate stretch in order to facilitate the expansion of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor. The "massacre of the greens" on Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg would add to the 10,000 trees felled earlier. Cocking a snook at the Government's order stalling further expansion of the corridor, construction work continues unabated.

Road to hell

The first bus accident on the BRT corridor since its trial run began has driven home a point: even the supposedly much wider bus lanes also lack enough space for buses to manoeuvre. On Tuesday morning, two passengers in a Blueline bus were injured when the driver made an attempt to save a pedestrian who suddenly came on the corridor by swerving to the left and hitting the railing. The incident took place at Pushp Vihar around 8 am. The bus on route number 544 was headed from Ambedkar Nagar to Sarjoni Nagar at the time.

If you live anywhere near the BRT corridor, get set for a manic Monday, again.

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