[sustran] Re: fwd: Delhi public transport crisis again

[Akila Dinakar]

Hello: It was one of my predictions that environmental issues will occupy 
top priority in newspapers and other media. True to that came the Gujarat 
earthquake which was a human tragedy, having environmental degradation 
behind the magnitude. Next comes the burning of buses in New Delhi. It is 
good to see public agitating for a public cause, though the modus operandi 
is ultimately not good for them. It is equally good to see the Chief 
Minister joining issue with the public, if only they had been more effective 
in averting this crisis.
In Chennai recently, when an environmentalist from an organisation that was 
mainly responsible for this Court ruling was here, I asked him what was the 
rationale behind the judgement when one bus, with one tail-pipe pollution 
was transporting thousands of passengers should be taken off the road when 
you are not able to control the burgeoning private automobiles, cars and 
two-stroke two wheelers, lorries which constitute the maximum pollution and 
disperse it at the street level. I asked him why don't you instead lobby for 
better pavements to make walking more attractive, safe cycling tracks to 
help people take to this healthy and non-polluting mode of transport instead 
of targetting buses which transporting lakhs of people per day with minimal 
pollution per head.
He did not have an answer as he had already admitted that their persuasion 
did not work with the oil and automobile industry! There is no doubt in the 
fact that pollution should be minimised. But we have to take care that at 
the very outset we should not hit where it hurts most. Thank You. Akila 
Dinakar.

>From: Paul Barter <geobpa at nus.edu.sg>
>Reply-To: sustran-discuss at jca.ax.apc.org
>To: "'aasust_discuss'" <sustran-discuss at jca.ax.apc.org>
>Subject: [sustran] fwd: Delhi public transport crisis again
>Date: Wed, 4 Apr 2001 13:50:50 +0800
>
>Again, it seems the bus system plus other services like autorickshaws have
>been severely disrupted in Delhi.  Any comments or insights on this from 
>our
>Indian or Delhi-based participants?
>Paul
>-------------
>
>Straits Times Interactive
>Apr 04, 2001
>http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/storyprintfriendly/0,1887,34426,00.html?
>
>New Delhi commuters torch buses as crisis hits transport
>
>The anger erupts after a court orders thousands of smoky vehicles off the
>roads in a bid to clean up the city's air, leading to a shortage of buses
>
>By Nirmal Ghosh
>INDIA CORRESPONDENT
>
>NEW DELHI - The Indian capital was plunged into chaos yesterday as furious
>commuters torched buses to protest against a lack of public transport after
>a court order forced thousands of smoky vehicles off the roads.
>
>Tens of thousands of commuters were stranded and blocked the streets, 
>trying
>in desperation to hitch rides in private cars or on motor scooters.
>
>A crowd of 2,000 burnt six public buses and broke the windows of 10 more on
>the outskirts of New Delhi, expressing their anger and frustration after
>waiting for hours.
>
>The crisis is expected to last all week - but hard-hit schools and
>businesses will get some respite tomorrow and Friday, which are public
>holidays.
>
>Some schools closed for the week yesterday.
>
>The few buses plying the streets were mobbed, with commuters sitting on
>rooftops and clinging to the window grilles at the back.
>
>Only about 2,000 buses were on the streets yesterday - down from the usual
>12,500.
>
>At the heart of the problem is an effort to clean up the capital's
>environment after decades of neglect and galloping growth.
>
>The city, with a population of close to 14 million, has become the most
>densely populated in the country.
>
>In 1998, the Supreme Court ordered all Delhi-registered commercial vehicles
>to convert to compressed natural gas (CNG), instead of diesel and petrol.
>
>After several extensions, the final deadline fell last Sunday.
>
>Owners of transport vehicles waited as long as possible to convert, hoping
>they would not have to, because the conversion can cost up to 7,000 rupees
>(S$280) per vehicle, although the CNG is said to be less expensive in the
>long run.
>
>As Monday was a public holiday, the full scale of the chaos only surfaced
>yesterday.
>
>Officials had assured the public that at least 5,000 buses would be on the
>road by Monday and more yesterday.
>
>In the event only about 1,100 reached the streets on Monday, about 2,000
>yesterday and, by the end of the week, only 5,000 are expected to be in 
>use.
>
>The Supreme Court ruled last week that those bus operators who had applied
>for CNG conversion and made down payments could take to the streets - but
>with special permits.
>
>But it takes hours to issue a permit.
>
>The Times of India said in an editorial yesterday: 'Who is behind the mess?
>It's a bunch of politicians who uncaringly allowed deadline after court
>deadline to pass. They did so obviously presuming politicians are
>accountable to none.'
>
>The CNG conversion drive is part of an effort on several fronts to address
>the problem of New Delhi's pollution, much of which is caused by car
>emissions, especially from diesel and from old-technology two-stroke
>auto-rickshaw engines.
>
>As part of the effort, hundreds of polluting small-scale industrial units
>have been closed down, and thousands of taxis and auto-rickshaws converted
>to CNG.
>
>While the drive has created severe problems with thousands in the city
>thrown out of jobs, officials said the capital's air-pollution levels had
>already dropped.
>
>Companies and businesses across the city reported yesterday that about 10
>per cent of their staff did not come to work.
>
>Driver Vikram Singh told The Straits Times: 'I came to work one hour late. 
>I
>was clinging to the back of the bus.
>
>'The auto-rickshaws were charging many times the normal fare. There were
>huge crowds at the bus stops. Only a few were running. I was lucky.'
>
>Copyright © 2001 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.
>-------------
>
>forwarded for the purposes of education and research under the fair play
>provisions of copyright law.
>

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