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Bus strike worsens

The Delhi government on Wednesday invoked the Essential Services Maintenance Act and requested its neighbouring states to lend buses to tide over the crisis caused by the private bus owners strike.

It has also decided to alter office timings to ensure smooth traffic and better utility of buses in view of the chaotic situation prevailing in the city.

Transport Minister Rajendra Gupta said the permits of Blueline buses that do not operate would be cancelled, and Delhi Transport Corporation drivers asked to take over such vehicles.

Blueline operators, for their part, threatened to intensify their strike.

Gupta said the government had instructed the traffic department to 'go slow' for the time being in overloading cases. Further, police had been instructed to arrest any person who tried to obstruct buses from operating.

He said the government had contacted the Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh authorities to lend buses.

Gupta appealed to the people to co-operate with the administration and not succumb to the bus operators's 'blackmail'.

The Blueline operators, who had nothing to do with the school bus strike, were trying to hold the people at ransom to force the government into accepting their demands.

"They are hiding their crime in the garb of demands," he said.

The two main demands of the Blueline operators are the renewal of permits for the next five years and ownership rights on general power of attorney basis.

Thousands of office-goers and school children, meanwhile, were stranded for the second day. Many walked long distances to reach their destinations.

Most schools in the capital were closed. Leading schools had, however, made alternate arrangements. The situation on the roads was chaotic during the rush hours.

The transport minister said all the 3,800 buses under DTC plied on Wednesday. Some 500 blueline buses were also on the roads.

Gupta said Blueline operators were not even willing to discuss a code of conduct for drivers.

Meanwhile, Ramesh Dalal, president of the STA Nyay Panchayat, the representative body of the Blueline operators which is spearheading the strike, said they would not buckle under pressure.

''We are not scared of ESMA and have asked all our operators to go underground to prevent impounding of their buses,'' he said. In any case, he believed the government did not have enough experienced drivers to take away all the private buses -- there are 3,920 Blueline buses in the capital.

"It is a do or die situation," Dalal said, "If the government tries to impound buses, we will fight back."

He said more than 5,000 commercial vehicle owners, including taxis and three wheelers, had pledged support to their cause.

UNI

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