Blueline menace: Court hits out at bus operators

By IANS

New Delhi : The Delhi High Court Monday came down heavily on Blueline bus operators for the killing of innocent people by the bus drivers and said “the situation could not get worse than this”.


Support TwoCircles

Summoning the government and private operators for an urgent hearing on the issue, a bench headed by Justices Mukul Mudgal and Reva Khetrapal termed the growing incidents of fatal accidents as “shocking”.

“It’s becoming shocking day by day and cannot get worse than this,” the bench said in reference to the accidents by privately owned Blueline buses.

The court also warned that it would withdraw all consideration shown to the Blueline buses, which have snuffed out at least 94 lives since January 2007.

“Now, we have to withdraw all directions in favour of Blueline bus operators,” the bench said after amicus curiae Anup Bhambani brought Sunday’s accident to the court’s notice.

The court has summoned the Delhi government counsel and bus operators to continue the hearing Monday afternoon.

Seven people – five women, a four-year-old child and a man – were killed and eight injured when a recklessly driven Blueline bus drove into them in south Delhi’s Badarpur area while trying to overtake a stationary bus from the wrong side.

It was the worst such disaster caused by the Blueline fleet, labelled “killer buses”.

The capital has over 4,000 Blueline buses, which form a crucial part of the city’s public transport system.

SUPPORT TWOCIRCLES HELP SUPPORT INDEPENDENT AND NON-PROFIT MEDIA. DONATE HERE