The more the things change, the more they remain the same. Nowhere does this French adage sound more suitable than on Delhi roads. Bluelines keep mowing down innocent people, their staff keep misbehaving with commuters and their operators keep flouting all rules in the book and yet nothing happens to check this menace.
All this happens in the capital of Incredible India, a nation on the move, an aspiring superpower. In this city, we have people who try to convince us that the Indian century is imminent, that our nation will be a major player in international affairs, that we have made a tryst with greatness. These people?central ministers, Members of Parliament, senior bureaucrats, academicians, intellectuals of the establishment?paint a rosy future for us. And what is the present? Bluelines: the most grotesque and loathsome epitome of corruption, inefficiency and official callousness. All this is so obvious, yet nobody in the government wants to do anything about them.
The October 7 accident at Badarpur in Delhi, mowing down seven people and injuring many more, was the bloodiest in recent times, but neither the first nor the last by the murderous Bluelines. The authorities concerned made the usual noises. The Delhi government announced a compensation of Rs 1 lakh to the next of the kin of those killed by the speeding Blueline bus in the capital.
The routine charade followed. Transport Minister Harun Yusuf ordered a probe into the accident by Deputy Commissioner (South) Rajiv Kala. More pro-forma reactions: the Minister instructed the Traffic Commissioner to cancel the permit of the bus; he chaired a meeting of the senior officials of the Transport Department; he said that the speed governor of the bus involved in the accident was tampered with, etc. All routine responses.
But when it came to the real issue?that is, the question of removing the murderous Bluelines from Delhi'sroads?Yusuf came to the defence of the egregious lobby that profits from the killer buses. He ruled out the immediate phase-out of these buses ?as we do not have sufficient transport facility to fill the gap.?
His government had given the same excuse when public outcry against Bluelines had reached a crescendo in July this year. It worked: for it helped the state government buy time. As the dust settled, it was business as usual for the Bluelines?that is, crushing people on roads. After some time, when people'sanger would subside, it would again be killing as usual. After the next mayhem, the government would say again: ?We cannot immediately phase out Blueline buses as we do not have sufficient transport facility to fill the gap.?
Why are Delhi'spoliticians in love with Bluelines? A look at the operators running these buses will help us find the answer. The person, Nawab Khan, operating the bus that killed seven people, including five women and a child, at Badarpur gives us a clue. Nawab Khan is actually the personification of the crime-police-politics nexus which is the bane of Delhi'sroad transport.
According to a news report, ?A local tour operator and alleged extortionist, Khan is out on bail after he was booked for criminal intimidation in January. Khan has been missing since Sunday'saccident. He runs NK Tours and Travels and his office is just outside Badarpur police station. Khan owns five buses that run on routes 460 and 405. But his name is written on 20 other buses on these routes? [This is because] Khan'sname ensures safe passage on the Badarpur route and that the traffic police look the other way. He charges Rs 2,500 per month for each bus to use his name.? So, Nawab is not just a name but also a brand! And the denizens of the nether world have recognised the value of a brand!
A police official was quoted, saying, ?Those who do not pay him [Khan] are caught by the traffic police and challaned everyday but his buses are touched once in a while. He is actually using the system against the system to make a profit.? What does the power that be intend to do? Nothing, it seems.
Worse, the political masters of Delhi are trying to dodge the people as well as the media. For instance, the Transport Minister'sentire focus is on the details like the permit of the killer bus and the speed governor. He wants attention to be diverted from the real issue, which is the basic structure of road transport. It is quite clear that the present system of small transporters running buses on individual routes is grossly inadequate. A few months ago, a non-government organisation extracted information from the authorities through RTI that there was no mechanism ever devised to monitor if the Bluelines were running on the routes for which they were given permits.
Besides, the Blueline system has degenerated to such an extent that it is beyond redemption; only the Nawab Khans, corrupt netas and babus can thrive on it; for others, Bluelines means inconvenience, misbehavior and, of course, death.
Since small is not beautiful in road transport, the government has two options: either it revives the ailing public sector Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), or it facilitates the setting-up of a corporate or co-operative body to run city buses. DTC revival would mean infusion of huge government money, and there is no guarantee of the desired results, for thousands of crores have been spent on sick PSUs all over the country without much benefit. In any case, DTC as an ailing PSU is in itself a problem, and a problem can never become a solution.
This leaves us with the options of a corporate or co-operative structure. Co-operatives, too, leave a lot to be desired, though a few good examples can be seen in Gujarat. Which means that one or more big private companies should run Delhi'sbuses. The Sheila Dikshit regime has indeed looked into such solutions, but it has shown great reluctance to replace the Blueline buses. It is time it stood up against the shenanigans of the Blueline lobby and showed some concern for the lives, if not the convenience, of the citizens of Delhi.
