Police say the corporation buses were involved in 21 fatal accidents in the first three months of this year
Police say the corporation buses were involved in 21 fatal accidents in the first three months of this year
The Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses appear to be going the 'killer Blueline' way if looks at the figures provided by the police.
According to Delhi Police, 21 fatal accidents were reported by DTC buses till March 31 this year as against 11 during the corresponding period last year. "This is a sharp increase in fatal accidents by DTC buses. People have been raising serious concerns about how dangerously the DTC buses ply on the roads and the same is reflected in fatalities caused by these vehicles," said Satyendra Garg, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic).
He pointed out that the strength of DTC buses has gone up but did not feel that it would alone account for the sharp increase in accidents. "Surely the way the DTC buses are being driven leaves much to be desired," he said. To check the menace, he said, traffic police have prosecuted these vehicles whenever grave violations have "come to our notice".
"As against 454 prosecutions in first three months last year, there has been a quantum jump of prosecutions this year touching 1,799, which is nearly four times than last year," he said. Police have also impounded 234 DTC buses when violations were serious.
Last year, the number of buses impounded were 39 in the same period. "All these measures and sensitising senior officers of DTC about the ground situation, it is hoped, will lead to better situation during the rest of the year. People expect DTC buses to be model for public transport," he said.
He also pointed out that another menace on the road was the Gramin Sewa autos meant to cater to rural areas. "These vehicles are flouting all rules of road discipline and beside extreme overcrowding, these are menace to safety and traffic flow as well. We are prosecuting them vigorously despite people sometime accusing traffic police of patronising these vehicles. "I am not denying corrupt traffic police personnel maybe taking money from them but let me mention the prosecutions in last month or so have been 2,961 including 296 cases of impounding," Garg said.
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