Dismantling of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor between Krishi Vihar and Chirag Dilli at a peak hour on Saturday led to massive traffic jam on the stretch. Earlier the AAP Government had assured that dismantling work would be taken only during night so that commuters were not affected during the day time. According to a commuter, it took more than two hours to cross three kilometre stretch from lajpat Nagar to Sheikh Sarai as the PWD workers were busy in removing curb stones near Sadiq Nagar in the afternoon.
Another commuter said that the Government or concerned department should tell the commuters in advance about dismantling of the corridor. “The AAP Government issued advertisement on every small issue to get publicity but they did not bother to inform the people about this work which led to heavy traffic jam,” said Tamnana Sahai, a resident of Saket. “I have to reach central market by 3 pm for an appointment with my client there while I started at 1 pm from Saket, I am not sure whether I will be there on time or not,” said Sahai who runs a production house.
Although traffic constables were helping to give way but he was not able to handle the heavy traffic on the stretch. The dismantling of bus shelters at the stretch has also created confusion among commuters. On Saturday afternoon, half a dozen PWD workers came on the stretch at Chirag Dilli and started dismantling the corridor during the heavy traffic on the stretch.
The AAP Government had earlier announced that dismantling of BRT would be completed by February-end whereas March has passed but residents of Saket , Mehrauli, Khanpur, Sheik Sarai, Sadik Nagar and lajpat Nagar have no respite from long hour traffic jams. “Removing of BRT corridor has already taken much time. Due to jam, the commuters who use this stretch are facing tough time,” said Satish Mittal, a shop owner at Saket.
In July, 2015, the AAP Government had decided to scrap the controversial Bus Rapid Transit corridor after it concurred with the general view that it is not serving the purpose it was constructed for and leading to massive traffic jams. After the decision, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had said that the BRT corridor would be scrapped considering public demand and the kind of accidents that had happened in the past. The corridor was constructed by Delhi Integrated Multi- Modal Transit System (DIMMTS), a joint-venture company set up by Delhi Government and Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation.