Delhi Govt warns action on truant operators as B/ls stay away

New Delhi, Oct 15 (UNI) Warning of strict action against bus operators who today kept their vehicles off the roads, the Delhi Government today said it would not come under the pressure of this kind of blackmailing.

On a day when hundreds of Bluelines operators stayed off the road in protest against the ongoing drive by the Delhi police and State Government against them, Delhi Transport Minister Haroon Yusuf warned bus operators to ply there buses by tomorrow, otherwise Government would take strong action against them.

''The Government will not come under the pressure of these kinds of blackmailing,''Mr Yousuf said, adding that the state government would not tolerate indiscipline in transport system and Blue line Bus Operators would have to follow traffic rules and regulation.

Of the over 3000 Blueline buses, close to 1,000 bluelines buses stayed off the roads.

Mr Yousuf said the Government would not hesitate in taking the strictest of action against the truant Bluelines and would, if necessary, consider imposing the Esssential Services Maintenance Act.

The Minister said the Government has arranged sufficient buses from NCR and Stage carriage Buses to cater to the commuters of capital.

He said that about 3000 DTC buses were plying on the road in full strength. The Minister also urged to the people of Delhi and commuters to fellow the traffic norms for their safety.

Though buses operating on the NCR region and other CNG DTC buses were diverted on the city routes, severe inconvenience was caused to the public with commuters in several areas of East Delhi and West Delhi having to wait for long hours to get buses to their offices.

Of the little buses on the roads, a majority were overcrowded.

Earlier, taking to reporters, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said,''we have said time and again that strict action will be taken against any move by bus operators to inconvenience the common man.'' Speaking after a Cabinet meeting at the Delhi secretariat, the Chief Minister expressed optimism that the ongoing crisis would soon be resolved with the Cabinet today deciding to procure 4500 buses so as to achieve the target of 6000 DTC buses by March 31, 2009.

''We have all along been asking bus operators to adhere to the requisite norms like driving in their respective lanes, running buses on the prescribed routes and display their licenses and permits prominently. I wish to reiterate that,''Ms Dikshit said.

Blueline buses today stayed away from the roads in protest against the ongoing drive by the police and the Delhi Government against them ever since last Sunday's horrific accident wherein a Blueline bus ran over 17 bystanders near Badarpur, killing eight and injuring nine others.

Shyam Lal Gola of the Delhi Bus Ekta Manch said the blueline bus drivers were refusing to ply the buses, alleging that they were wrongly booked.

They allege that they are being challaned because of fault of some drivers, Gola said.

Meanwhile, the transport Minister said that enforcement drive of the Transport department would be continuing till the transport system streamlined. He informed that in this period from 1st August to till date 856 buses have been checked and 49 buses impounded for tempering speed governors.

He further said that the Government has taken various steps to streamline the whole transport system.

UNI