Over 200 DTC buses break down, passengers stranded

Commuter woes were aggravated on Wednesday as over 268 Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses broke down in different parts of the city, following torrential rains and the resultant waterlogging.

Commuter woes were aggravated on Wednesday as over 268 Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses broke down in different parts of the city, following torrential rains and the resultant waterlogging.

A bus stuck below the Zakhira underpass in Delhi.

Over 25 passengers got trapped in one of these buses after the doors were jammed. Delhi Traffic Police and Delhi Fire Services officials pulled out the passengers using a ladder from the roof of the bus.

The stretch below the underpass was filled with around six-foot water. After the breakdowns, officials barricaded the stretch for traffic. It took around 45 minutes for traffic personnel to pull out all the passengers from the bus.

“Since the water level was really high, the doors of the bus got jammed and passengers could not come out,” said a senior traffic official.

DTC officials said that the chances of breakdown of low-floor buses are higher than the regular buses. Since the engine is closer to the ground, water seeps into it and affects operation.

Last year, on an average over 200 buses broke down on the city’s roads every day. However, these are only the complaints received by Delhi Traffic Police. Officials said, the original number is much higher.