New Delhi, (Samajweekly) At least 45 Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses were damaged in the violence on Republic Day as section of farmers, who deviated from the agreed route for the tractor parade and entered the city, clashed with the police, an official said.
“As of now, I can only say that information we have received that 45 buses got damaged in Tuesday’s protest. A meeting of senior officials is scheduled to review the matter,” official at the DTC head office told IANS.
Asked if the DTC has estimated the total loss of revenue due to damage of buses or will seek recoveries of its damage, the official said: “A meeting is scheduled for a review on total loss of busses and then only would I be able say what further action is to be taken.”
On Tuesday evening, the DTC had said that six buses were damaged by protesters, including one at ITO area in central Delhi and five at the Akshardham flyover.
Delhi, which already has a shortage of public transport for commuters, will now have another bunch of 45-50 buses off the roads till they are repaired.
Recently, the DTC had placed an order for 1,000 low-floor buses – the largest ever single procurement order in 12 years.
Earlier this month, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had claimed that with new 1,000 DTC buses, its fleet will now increase to 4,760 and a total of 7,693 (DTC and Cluster) buses will be on roads. However, according to transport experts and sources in DTC, Delhi needs at least 11,000 buses to cater to the population of daily commuters.
