Poor service forces residents of Banjar to take crowded buses

Dipender Manta

Tribune News Service

Mandi, June 23

After the recent bus mishap which claimed 45 lives and left scores injured, the residents of Banjar sub division have demanded adequate bus service to Gada Gushaini and a few other local routes for their convenience. Due to shortage of buses in the area they face difficulties in reaching their destinations.

After private bus mishap at Banjar, people are so scared that they do not want private bus service in the area.

They have urged the state government to provide Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) buses to facilitate travel by the people.

Gada Gushani road leading from Banjar covers eight panchayats of Mandi and Kullu districts.

The people complained that the frequency of buses plying on this route is quite low. There is need to provide at least three buses with immediate effect in the evening time so that people can have hassle-free travel to their destination.

Roshan Lal, a native of Ralee village under Banjar sub division of Kullu district, lost his 28-year-old daughter-in-law in Banjar bus mishap, while his son is battling for life at Kullu regional hospital.

Talking to The Tribune Roshan Lal said that the number of people visiting from the Gada Gushaini area to Banjar, Kullu and Mandi is high as compared to the availability of buses. School and college students, employees and farmers, who transport their cash crops to market in morning and return back home in evening, are dependent on the bus service.

“Despite knowing that travel on the overloaded buses is risky, people have no option except to board the bus to reach their destination because they cannot afford taxi fare to reach at home. The government should provide separate bus service for students to suit school and college timings”, he remarked.

“I have lost my daughter-in-law in this bus mishap, while my son is struggling for life in Kullu hospital. We want at least three buses in the evening so that this type of tragedy can be averted in near future”, he added. Prem Chand, a resident of Teel Panchayat, said, “After Banjar bus mishap, the people have strong resentment against private bus operator. We urge the government to provide adequate HRTC bus service, which will be of great help to the people.”

Congress spokesperson Vijay Pal Chauhan, who visited the victims of this bus tragedy, said that the road leading to Gada Gushaini is in poor condition for the past many years. Maintenance work on the road should be carried out with immediate effect.

This road was constructed so many years back around 1968 at the time of Thakur Karam Singh and it still was a kucha road. The area belongs to Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur and he should ask the authorities concerned to improve the condition of this road. He said that the state government should provide vide Himachal Road Transport Corporation bus service as per the demand of local people in remote villages, where mode of transportation is far too inadequate.

Constructed in 1968, still a kucha road

Congress spokesperson Vijay Pal Chauhan, who visited the victims of this bus tragedy, said that the road leading to Gada Gushaini is in poor condition for the past several years. This road was constructed so many years back around 1968 at the time of Thakur Karam Singh and it still was a kucha road. 

Locals hassled

• Gada Gushani road leading from Banjar covers eight panchayats of Mandi and Kullu districts. The people complained that the frequency of buses plying on this route is quite low. 
• School and college students, employees and farmers, who transport their crops to market in morning and return back in the evening, are dependent on the bus service.
• A local resident said despite knowing that travel on the overloaded buses is risky, people have no option but to board the bus.