Travel by SGPC buses risky, courtesy overloading, rash driving

Charanjit Singh Teja

Tribune News Service

Amritsar June 27

Though the free bus service of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) serves a large number of devotees by ferrying them from the railway station to the Golden Temple and vice-versa, but during the peak hours, it becomes a risky ride. These buses would generally be overloaded and driven rashly.

The passengers can be seen hanging outside the doors. However, the traffic police authorities look the other way and never take action when traffic rules are violated.

As per the information, there are a total of four mini-buses of the SGPC plying on the Darbar Sahib-railway station route. The distance between the Golden Temple and the railway station is around 5 kilometers via the inner ring road.

The bus takes around 15 minutes when the flow of traffic is moderate. The SGPC authorities claimed that the buses ferry passengers through out the day without any delay and stoppage. As per the time table, one bus is available at the railway station and the other at the Golden Temple complex all day. The bus driver waits for passengers for 15 minutes and leaves the station on schedule. The SGPC officials claimed that the devotees do not show patience and try to board the overloaded bus.

Sulakhan Singh, Manager, Darbar Sahib, said, “The bus is free for all, so drivers can’t refuse anyone from boarding the bus. We asked the drivers and helpers to close the windows after the bus is filled to its capacity. But the devotees put pressure on the bus staff and they have to allow them. Four buses are enough on the route and there is no need to run more buses. We will tackle the issue of overloading and rash driving.”

Meanwhile, a traffic police officer said the bus drivers have been asked to obey the traffic rules.