Vehicle break-down jams corridor

  • 30/04/2008

  • Tribune (New Delhi)

A mechanical snag in a vehicle on much-criticised corridor has caused a major traffic jam near Panchsheel Enclave on Ambedkar Nagar-Moolchand corridor this morning. There was no arrangement of cranes to remove the vehicle from the car track. It was 10.20 am when the Tata Sumo stopped on the track due to some snag. The driver tried to restart the vehicle but he could not. Finally the occupants of the Sumo pushed the vehicle on the cycle track. By the time it was removed from the track, there was jam from Panchsheel to Moolchand flyover. Delhi minister of transport Haroon Yusuf had assured that two cranes would be available for 24 hours to remove any vehicle, stuck by chance. But today there was no crane. Besides, a human chain of BJYM workers on the corridor created further jam on the other side. It was led by the Delhi chief of the BJP, Harsh Vardhan, demanding resignation of Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on the corridor issue. Vardhan said if the corridor is not closed, the BJP will take the issue to the court. People are fed up with traffic jam on the corridor. A large number of vehicle owners have changed their way. Eight people have already lost their lives on it. Dozens have been injured. Today also four people were injured and they are fighting for life. Despite this the government is not closing the dangerous corridor. It wants to serve only some vested interests, pointed out Vardhan. He said the Chief Minister is proposing to construct two parallel roads to keep the corridor open. Footover bridges are being constructed. Crores of rupees will be spent on it also. Before starting any project, a survey of its utility is done. The views of experts are taken. In case of the BRT corridor, nothing has been done, added Vardhan. While Harsh Vardhan was raising slogans against the government, demanding scrapping the BRT project, a car driver stopped and asked him, "You should have raised objection when the government had started the construction of the corridor. You cannot stop it. Now it is completed.'