HRTC’s journey comes alive in tunnel
The long journey of the Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) has been engraved on the walls of the tunnel below its headquarters in Shimla. The commuters passing through the tunnel would be able to see the images of the HRTC buses, starting from 1958 till date. From the buses having truck-shaped front in 1958 to the sleek modern buses, one would see this transformation at a glance.
The design of the beautification of the tunnel has been prepared by Him Chatterjee, while and the beautification work has been done by Sunil Kumar Suri. The artists have painted the bus models of 1958, 1974, Volvo bus model of 2004, Volvo bus model of 2008, and electric bus model of 2016 and normal HRTC bus model have been created through painting in the tunnel.
HRTC Managing Director Rohan Chand Thakur said the HRTC completed 50 years on October 2, 2024, whereupon it was decided to showcase its long journey on the wall of the tunnel below our headquarters. “Models of buses are shown on one side of the tunnel, while the expectations of passengers are shown on the other side,” said Thakur.
The tender for the beautification of the bus stand tunnel was allotted for over Rs 19 lakh. On November 15, 2024, Suri’s team started the work. The beautification work was completed on January 10. “We have used quality paints for the work, which remain effective for seven to 10 years. Working here was challenging because it is a very busy tunnel, so much of the work was done in night hours. We have tried to tell the story of the HRTC through our work,” said Suri.
