The tardy dismantling of bus stops on the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor on Khanpur-Chirag Dilli has resulted into traffic chaos.
Commuters told The Pioneer that it takes two to three hours to cross this stretch and there is no respite in sight for them. Chirag Dilli that earlier witnessed heavy vehicular movement has been choked further with vehicle moving at a snail’s pace
The situation near Sheikh Sarai is so bad that now some commuters blame Traffic Police for not diverting routes.
Hema Dhawan, who works with a private firm in Nehru Place, said it took him two hours to traverse a distance of half kilometre. “I reach office late at around 10. 30 am and my employer has been marking me late and will deduct my salary. There is no deployment of traffic police personnel on the route,” said Dhawan.
Sumedha Kashyap, who travels by public transport to reach her office, said, “I have been waiting for the DTC bus for the last one hour or so but the traffic is not moving. It normally takes 15 minutes to travel to my destination at Sheikh Sarai but it now takes 2.5 hours now.”
Another commuter Vishal Singh said that BRT is a curse for the people of South -East Delhi. “There is no facility for pedestrians, especially for crossing the road to reach to the bus shelters. There are no foot overbridges and now, passengers are waiting on road which has become another reason for traffic chaos.”
David lalrinsanga, the Joint Commissioner of Police Traffic said, “We have taken up this issue with the Public Works Department (PWD). The dismantling process is taking time. Meanwhile, we are ensuring the deployment of traffic constable at the troubles spots at this particular stretch.”