Petitioner damages BRT corridor
15 May 2012 9:46 AM GMT
The second day of the trial run on the bus rapid transit (BRT) corridor at ITO on Sunday turned dramatic as stones in the centre of the corridor were found demolished.
These stones, which divided the dedicated bus lane from the rest of the carriageway, were removed by Colonel BB Sharan, a petitioner in the original PIL, which had raised questions on the viability of the BRT.
Sharan and a few men came to the BRT corridor late on Saturday night with bulldozers and rammed the dividers. ‘Though officials from DIMTS, who were there at that time tried to stop him, he claimed that he had a court order that allowed him to do so,’ said a senior government official. Later, when contacted, DIMTS officials said that a report had been sent to the Transport department and appropriate action would be taken.
Incidentally, Sharan had moved a petition on Friday, asking the HC to give permission to do away with the dividers, which he had claimed could prove to be a safety hazard once the trial runs were on. The court had then made it clear that CRRI was ‘at liberty to remove barriers or dividers and do anything in accordance with the laws to ensure the purpose of the study is achieved’.
CRRI officials, however, said that they were conducting the study within the parameters required. A CRRI official said, ‘We didn’t feel the need to uproot the dividers for the trial run. All the physical changes that needed to be undertaken, like road signage, street markings and metal barriers were put in place for the trial run,’ a senior CRRI official said.
Sharan, however, said Friday’s HC order had made him a member of the court-appointed study team from CRRI and as such, he could also help in the on-going trial run.
These stones, which divided the dedicated bus lane from the rest of the carriageway, were removed by Colonel BB Sharan, a petitioner in the original PIL, which had raised questions on the viability of the BRT.
Sharan and a few men came to the BRT corridor late on Saturday night with bulldozers and rammed the dividers. ‘Though officials from DIMTS, who were there at that time tried to stop him, he claimed that he had a court order that allowed him to do so,’ said a senior government official. Later, when contacted, DIMTS officials said that a report had been sent to the Transport department and appropriate action would be taken.
Incidentally, Sharan had moved a petition on Friday, asking the HC to give permission to do away with the dividers, which he had claimed could prove to be a safety hazard once the trial runs were on. The court had then made it clear that CRRI was ‘at liberty to remove barriers or dividers and do anything in accordance with the laws to ensure the purpose of the study is achieved’.
CRRI officials, however, said that they were conducting the study within the parameters required. A CRRI official said, ‘We didn’t feel the need to uproot the dividers for the trial run. All the physical changes that needed to be undertaken, like road signage, street markings and metal barriers were put in place for the trial run,’ a senior CRRI official said.
Sharan, however, said Friday’s HC order had made him a member of the court-appointed study team from CRRI and as such, he could also help in the on-going trial run.
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