Bluelines live up to killer tag: one killed
Despite the Delhi CM's assurance that Blueline buses will be put off Delhi roads, Wednesday witnessed a spate of Blueline bus accidents, report Vijaita Singh and Sidhartha Roy.
It has been 15 long years since Delhi has been suffering killer private buses; only its hue changed from red to blue. As governments down the years failed to provide a reliable and safe mode of public transport, the killer buses have been claiming their victims unabated.
Wednesday witnessed a spate of Blueline bus accidents. A speeding Blueline bus crushed to death PK Mallick (35), an Ayurvedic doctor, who was waiting at a bus stand in Mandawali. The police said no arrests have been made, as the driver fled from the spot. A case of rash and negligent driving has been registered. "He was trying to board the bus on route number-85 when a Blueline bus came and crushed him to death," said Swapan Mandal, the deceased's brother-in-law.
Mallick was rushed to Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital where he was declared brought dead.
In another incident a woman was getting down from a Blueline bus in Model Town when another bus sped up and she was reportedly crushed in between. The victim, Kamlesh (50), was rushed to a hospital where her condition is said to be stable. The driver of the bus, Raju, has been arrested.
In one more bus accident, Sudhir Kumar (26), was critically injured when a minibus brushed past him while he was hanging from an overcrowded Blueline bus in Mayapuri on Wednesday. He has been admitted to DDU hospital. Rajesh, the driver of the bus, has been arrested.
While the government plans to make laws regarding death due to accident stricter, experts say existing rules are enough to tame Bluelines if the government cracks the whip. "We have enough existing rules and norms to tame Blueline buses but these are not enforced," said Anil Sood of NGO Chetna. "There is lack of political will because most buses run on benami and are protected by politicians and bureaucrats," he said.
