Broken-Down Buses Clog Delhi Roads: Government Seeks Paramilitary Help to Stem the Tide
In the wake of Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s recent warning about the breakdown of Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses, the Delhi Traffic Police and Transport Department are considering seeking assistance from Central Armed Police Forces to tackle the crisis. According to sources, the Ministry of Home Affairs has suggested that the Delhi government and Traffic Police use the Motor and Transport unit of the paramilitary forces, such as the Border Security Force, Central Industrial Security Force, and Central Reserve Police Force, to repair and remove broken-down buses from the roads.
The Comptroller and Auditor General’s (CAG) report, ‘Prevention and Mitigation of Vehicular Air Pollution in Delhi, 2021’, has highlighted the congestion on city roads caused by broken-down buses, which is further exacerbated by the time taken to remove them from the roads. The report analyzed data on 2,661 instances of broken-down buses between 2014 and 2021, revealing that in 3.57 lakh cases, it took longer than 30 minutes to remove the buses from the roads. In 70% of these cases, it took more than 30 minutes, while in 54% of cases, it took between 31 minutes to two hours, and in 29% of cases, it took more than two hours to four hours.
The CAG report also noted that the response time to remove broken-down cluster buses, operated on a 50-50 profit-loss sharing basis between private operators and the Delhi government, was beyond 30 minutes in 71% of cases between April 2015 and March 2017. The Delhi government has been advised to deploy 50 skilled mechanics from the paramilitary forces to assist DTC teams in repairing and removing broken-down buses.
The Traffic Police has identified major areas, such as Mehrauli to Gurugram at MG Road, IIT flyover to Modi Mill flyover at Outer Ring Road, Rao Tula Ram Marg, Sardar Patel Marg, Peeragarhi Chowk to Tikri Border at Rohtagha Road, and Punjabi Bagh to Naraina Flyover at Ring Road, where congestion caused by broken-down buses is a common problem. The Transport Department has only 15 teams available to repair and remove broken-down DTC and cluster buses, which takes over 45 minutes to an hour to complete.
In response to the issue, the Traffic Police has requested the Transport Department to deploy its cranes and teams on important stretches to reduce the time taken to remove broken-down buses. The Delhi government is now exploring alternative solutions to tackle the menace, including seeking paramilitary help to repair and remove broken-down buses, and providing additional support to private operators to prevent the recurrence of such incidents.
Original Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/mechanics-from-paramilitary-may-be-roped-in-to-tackle-dtc-bus-breakdown-9874894/
Category : Cities,Delhi
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Publish Date: 2025-03-08 06:03:00
