Not allowed to board, commuters vandalise buses in Delhi

Restricted seating arrangement triggers chaos; police officer among those injured in the ensuing ruckus in south Delhi

December 31, 2021 01:45 am | Updated 03:15 am IST - NEW DELHI

Shattered:  A video grab of a vandalised DTC bus in Sangam Vihar on Thursday.

Shattered: A video grab of a vandalised DTC bus in Sangam Vihar on Thursday.

A group of people and a police officer sustained injuries when commuters blocked MB Road in south Delhi’s Sangam Vihar and damaged a few DTC buses on Thursday morning after not being allowed to board them due to the passenger limit under the new COVID-19 guidelines.

Under the ‘yellow alert’ announced by the Delhi government, buses can run with 50% of seating capacity (around 17 passengers) at a time. This has caused major inconvenience to commuters going to work via public transport.

Police said around 8.15 a.m. on Thursday, several calls regarding a road blockade by the public near Jamia Hamdard on MB Road were received. On reaching the spot, they found some bus commuters sitting on the road as bus drivers and marshalls were not allowing more than 17 passengers to board the vehicles.

The police team tried to convince the agitated public to allow the traffic to move but in vain. After a while, the protesters started vandalising the buses and broke windowpanes of four-five vehicles, the police said. In order to bring the situation under control, the protesters were removed with the help of female police personnel, Additional DCP M. Harsha Vardhan said. The police denied any lathicharge, but said mild force was used. In the process, one officer was injured, Mr. Vardhan said. An FIR has been registered and six persons, including two women, have been arrested, said the police. One juvenile has also been detained in connection with the incident.

Opposition attacks govt.

Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri accused the AAP government of not making proper arrangements for commuters. “The question is, how the public will reach their workplace? People have become helpless and are being forced to protest on the streets,” the LoP said.

Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Transport, Ashish Kundra said the government would assess the demand of buses among commuters over the coming days. “In light of the current situation, we will induct more buses from private operators in a phased manner to address the increase in demand for buses due to COVID restrictions,” Mr. Kundra said.

The DTC Karamchari Ekta Union demanded that the Delhi government immediately induct more buses as well as increase the number of passengers allowed on them.

“If nothing is done, frustrated passengers will take bus drivers and conductors to task and more such incidents will happen. Something needs to be done urgently so the safety of everyone involved is taken care of,” union president Lalit Chaudhary and general secretary Manoj Sharma said.

Attack videos

Videos of the buses being vandalised are being circulated on social media wherein a green and a red air-conditioned bus can be seen with broken windshields and side mirrors.

A conductor of one of the buses said they have instructions to allow only 17 commuters at a time. When there are 20 people, including the driver, conductor and marshal on the bus, they don’t stop it. “If we stop and more people enter the bus, we will be fined ₹2,000,” he said.

The conductor said a similar incident had taken place on Wednesday but Thursday’s attack was more serious. People got agitated and started throwing stones. Nobody inside the bus was injured, he said.

Sharing her ordeal while waiting for public transport, Krishna, a 45-year-old house help who commutes from Sultanpuri to Rajouri Garden daily, said now she has to wait for at least three-four buses before she is able to board one. “I get late to work every day and the wait for the bus is tiresome. But I hope public transport doesn’t stop. We won’t be able to survive another lockdown,” she said.

Another house help, Radha, shared a similar concern and said that all her family members who are dependent on buses to commute to and from work are facing problems and are being scolded by their employers. “The bosses don’t understand. They just see we are late,” she said.

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