10,000 new buses by 2010: Sheila

To revamp the transport scenario ahead of the Commonwealth Games in 2010, the Delhi Government will introduce 10,000 new buses -- including modern low-floor ones -- within two years and as many as 20 per cent of them would be air-conditioned to bring more personal vehicle users on to the public transport network, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said on Tuesday. Speaking at the foundation stone laying ceremony of Asiad Village Community Centre, Ms. Dikshit said Delhi would also become self-sufficient in power by 2010. The foundation stone of the gas-based 1,500 MW power plant at Bawana would be laid by the Prime Minister on March 24, she announced. Pointing out that consumption of power had been increasing by 9 per cent to 10 per cent per annum, she said efforts were being made to increase availability of power. Claiming that power theft had declined from 52 per cent to 28 per cent, Ms. Dikshit also stressed the need for power and water conservation to meet the rising demand. The Chief Minister also made a note of the water crisis in the Capital, saying while the Government had worked hard to get the Sonia Vihar water treatment plant commissioned, it had been facing difficulty in getting raw water for it from the neighbouring States.