BRTS now set for Navratri launch

After a series of failed attempts at meeting deadlines in 2009, the Ahmedabad Janmarg Ltd (AJL) has set the first day of Navratri as the proposed date for the launch of the highly anticipated but much delayed Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) in the city.

If officials of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) are to be believed, the Rs900-crore BRTS will be officially inaugurated on the first day of Navratri. A reason cited for the selection of this date is the presence of Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi in Ahmedabad on that day, for the inauguration of the state government’s grand celebration at the GMDC ground, located near the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

“This is just talk among the officials. The BRTS launch may be delayed till Dashera as it is considered an auspicious day in the Hindu calendar,” a source close to the development said. The BRTS launch has been postponed five times since October 2008.

Meanwhile, AJL officials said that, even after all the delays, the contractors will take at least another week to complete work on the BRTS route. “Eight of the 16 bus stations have been equipped with ITeS services, which accounts for 50 per cent of the total work. Also, the work on the automated doors and other minor things is yet to be completed,” an AJL official said.

However, Asit Vora, chairman of the standing committee of the AMC, who has been visiting the BRTS corridor to take stock of the status of the work along the 12.5-km route from the RTO to Pirana, said, “I doubt that the BRTS can be launched by Navratri.” He is, however, hopeful of the service being launched by Diwali.