New bus services upset people of upper Shimla, Sirmaur

Kuldeep Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, January 16

The launch of Transport Minister GS Bali’s 25 new buses has upset people in Rohru, Chopal, Jubbal-Kotkhai region and Sirmaur district, the region which faces overcrowding in buses and a large number of accidents.

The buses were launched under the ‘new business model’ that gives double benefit of 20 to 40 per cent less fare and brand new buses.

Bali’s announcements came as a disappointment for people of upper Shimla and Sirmaur districts as he did not include even a single route in the area under the fixed rate bus service, depriving people of the double benefit.

He announced the launch of Shimla-Nalagarh-Una-Talival, Shimla-Parwanu-Chandigarh, Mandi-Bilaspur and ISBT- Bhatta Kufar- Mehli, Shimla- Ghanati and old bus stand-Dhalli routes in the city and Jeori- Sainj- Rampur and other routes concentrated in the lower areas here today.

Bali also announced low-fare, smart, 37- seater buses on the Nagrota-Jawalaji, Nagrota-Baijnath, Nawanshar- Shahtalai, Nagrota-Hamirpur, Chamunda-Hamirpur, Dalhousie-Pathankot, Jogindernagar-Pathankot, Bhuntar-Manali, Shimla-Mandi-Hamirpur and other routes in Ghumarwin and Kangra.

These buses, he said, would be launched in 10 days.

“We will launch the volvo bus service from Paonta Sahib to Chandigarh and Delhi soon,” he added.

Bali said the new buses were bigger in size and did not fit the bill to be run on the higher hill routes. “We will launch new buses which are smaller in size in the routes in upper areas soon,” he claimed.

Bali ducked the query as to why the new scheme was discriminating against the passengers travelling in old Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) buses as they continued to pay more fares despite the prices of petrol and diesel coming down. Also, the common man was deprived of both the benefits given under business model of the new transport policy.

The minister, however, added that the HRTC had increased its fleet from 2,018 to 2,234 buses and would launch 20 new AC buses. “We are giving people an option under the new business model to travel in the new buses which will, in due course, cover entire Himachal,” he claimed.