Where have all the Bluelines gone?

Ever since September 26,the Bluelines and Whitelines have dropped out of sight. On roads around the Games venues,only gleaming low-floor buses ply. Of an estimated 2,100 Blueline buses,some 1,600 are off Delhi roads for 20 days.

“Some of us have gone to our homes outside Delhi,some have picked up work elsewhere. Others like me sit idle,” Jameel says. According to him,only helpers like him had no work in such a situation. “Drivers definitely find work,they do not remain unemployed. Problem to hum jaiso ka hai.”

Shyam Lal Gola of the Delhi Bus Ekta Manch said bus-owners were taking a huge hit because of the 20-day curb brought on by the Games. “We are abiding by the notice of the Transport department. Once the Games are over,our buses will be back on the roads,” he says.

But it is not just the bus-owners and helpers like Jameel who seem unhappy with the present arrangement. Commuters largely dependent on Bluelines have also been complaining.

“I have been waiting for a bus for so long,” says Manoj,holding two heavy bags,one in each hand. “The frequency of private buses is very high. One doesn’t have to wait long for a bus to show up. But DTC buses stick to schedule. They turn up only when it is time.”

There is one lot though that is not complaining about the disappearance of Bluelines — the police. “Blueline buses break the rules very regularly. Most DTC drivers follow rules,” says a traffic policeman.

For Constable Kalyan Singh,posted near Jama Masjid,“everyday seems like a Sunday these days.” “We are very happy to see so few private buses on the road though this arrangement is for less than a month. In the rush for passengers,Blueline buses break rules,stop in the middle of roads,speed all the time. They care only for money,not rules,” he says.

— (The reporter is a student at the

Express Institute of Media Studies,New Delhi)