Home India News Uttar Pradesh-Delhi bus row ends, commuters relieved

Uttar Pradesh-Delhi bus row ends, commuters relieved

By IANS

New Delhi : A six-month-old stand-off between the Delhi and Uttar Pradesh governments over the plying of buses in each other's territory ended Saturday, spelling relief for thousands of daily commuters.

The transport ministers of the two governments Saturday flagged off bus services from the Anand Vihar inter-state bus terminal in the capital.

"The row was solved after the Mayawati government (of Uttar Pradesh) understood the inconvenience caused to people. The efforts from both sides to resolve the dispute are highly appreciated," Delhi Transport Minister Haroon Yusuf said.

His counterpart from Uttar Pradesh, Ramachal Rajbhar also hailed the move.

"The transport secretaries from both sides met to resolve the issue," Rajbhar said.

"The stand-off had affected thousands of passengers bound for Ghaziabad, Noida, Meerut, Hapur, Moradabad and the nearby cities," he added.

The crisis began in November last year when Uttar Pradesh started plying its buses on the city routes of Delhi unilaterally. The Delhi government objected saying it would lead to chaos on the roads. Uttar Pradesh retaliated by impounding over 100 Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses operating in its territory.

The Delhi government reciprocated and seized buses of the Uttar Pradesh State Transport Corporation, leading to a transport crisis.

The resumption of bus services has relieved around 20,000 people who depend on the buses daily to reach their destinations.

"We had to disembark at the Badarpur border area and then take another vehicle to reach our destinations in the national capital," said Alka Sharma, a resident of Ghaziabad.

"I am happy. Now my travelling time would be reduced to 45 minutes," said Anuj Shankar, a regular commuter from Delhi to Noida.