ODD-EVEN SCHEME PUTTING PRESSURE ON PEOPLE IN THE ABSENCE OF AN EFFICIENT PUBLIC TRANSPORT SYSTEM—AJAY MAKEN.
Video 1 [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtoLzTZAgWQ&w=420&h=315]
NEW DELHI, April 15—Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president Shri Ajay Maken said the AAP Government was putting pressure on the people with the introduction of the second phase of the odd-even scheme in Delhi today without improving the public transport system, despite the AAP being in power for nearly one-and-a-half years. He said the odd-even scheme can succeed only if the public transport is improved. Shri Maken said with the DTC fleet utilization and route capitalization going down, private vehicles have gone up in the Capital, and the very purpose of reducing pollution with the introduction of the odd-even scheme will be defeated if the number of two-wheeler vehicles on the roads is not brought down, as presently the number of two-wheeler vehicles have only gone up in the absence of an efficient public transport system. Ajay Maken said after the AAP Government came to power in Delhi, there was a record low in the fleet utilization and route capitalization by the DTC. He said the Kejriwal Government could have and should have improved the DTC services, as the Delhi Metro was a gift of the Congress Government and it was an autonomous body, and despite the metro providing an efficient service, it was not sufficient to cater to the entire need of the Delhi public transport system, which can be improved only if the DTC improves its service. Shri Maken said there was a criminal negligence on the part of the Kejriwal Government in not improving the performance of the DTC, which was clearly evident from the Operational Statistics, being brought by the DTC every month. He said Kejriwal, who talks big and misleads the people, should ask his Minister to see the DTC Operational Statiscts to understand the plight of the DTC, and work out plans to improve its operational efficiency and fleet strength.
Maken said the statistics available prove that the AAP Government has not only failed to improve public transport, but there was also a drastic slump in the DTC fleet, and the available buses have not been fully utilized. He said the AAP Government was only putting out huge ads in newspapers to mislead the public without improving things at the ground level. He said statistics also show that the DTC income also fell during the first phase of the odd-even scheme in January 2016, and it also failed to carry maximum number of passengers in its buses.
