NEW DELHI: A month and a half since the Delhi government has started an enforcement drive to ensure bus lane discipline, more than 15,000 vehicles have been penalised. Transport minister Kailash Gahlot, who visited different areas on Monday to take stock of the drive, said it would be intensified.
“We will make this a permanent feature now, it’s here to stay,” Gahlot told TOI. “The initial few days were a bit chaotic, but now bus drivers also know what they must do, and the public is also appreciating the change,” he said. “Under the leadership of the chief minister, we are committed to make our roads safe for all stakeholders,” he added.
“Through this ongoing trial, there has been a lot of learning for all stakeholders and we are trying to put a system in place,” Gahlot pointed out. He said that for instance, the transport department’s enforcement teams usually issue challans to trucks and other heavy vehicles, but not buses. Similarly, Delhi Transport Corporation’s (DTC) depot managers were never aligned to this and now they are ensuring buses follow lane discipline and stop at designated areas. The minister said bus marshals had also been trained during the drive.
Gahlot said Ring road, which is around 50km long and total 100km with both carriageways, had been divided into 10 stretches. “Each stretch has been assigned to one team, either from the transport department, DTC or DIMTS,” he said, adding that on the stretch between Bhikaji Cama Place and Sarai Kale Khan, one official had been deployed at every Bus Q Shelter. The nearly 90km-long Outer Ring Road has been divided into different stretches too.
“I have visited Sarai Kale Khan thrice, where buses used to pick up and drop passengers from outside,” he said. Gahlot said that apart from an enforcement team and DTIDC officers, civil defence volunteers and bus marshals had been deployed because the buses not only blocked the lane but also posed risk for passengers. “Two buses have been impounded on Monday itself.”
He said road stretches and critical points had been identified “district magistrate-wise”, since the DMs were also chairpersons of district road safety committees. Gahlot, who is chairman of State Road Safety Council, said all such issues would be taken up in the council’s next meeting.
