Work over, new PRTC bus stand awaits inauguration

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Patiala, April 14

The inauguration of the new bus stand in the city is pending. Though the work on the bus stand has been completed, the Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) is yet to make it operational. Officials at the department said it could be inaugurated without the completion of work at the workshop on the premises.

The construction work had extended beyond its initial timeline.

The work of the Public Works Department (PWD) has been reviewed by senior officials of the department, along with PRTC Managing Director (MD) Vipul Ujjwal and PRTC Chairman Ranjodh Singh Hadana, who have paid multiple visits to the site.

Officials said the PWD has completed work on the bus stand. PRTC General Manager MP Singh said, “The bus stand premises have a workshop as well and work of the bus stand has been completed, while some work on the workshop is pending. We will try to make the bus stand functional within April.”

He said the PRTC officials expect Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to visit Patiala for the inauguration. “We are hopeful that the CM will inaugurate the new bus stand. The same is to be decided and brought to a conclusion by senior officials,” he said.

The PRTC has not yet taken any decision on the utilisation of the old bus stand. Due to the expansion of the city, the old bus stand is now in the heart of the city, creating traffic bottlenecks. The general manager said, “The PRTC is still contemplating the matter. Nothing has been decided yet. We are yet to decide whether it will be turned into a local bus stand or be utilised in some other way.”

The new bus stand, aimed at decongesting city roads by rendering them free from inter-city and inter-state buses, was initiated during the tenure of the Congress government, and then CM Captain Amarinder Singh had laid its foundation stone in October 2020. The initial expenditure for the project was Rs 60.97 crore, which was later enhanced for the construction of an elevated road to approach the bus stand. The construction work began in January 2021 and was supposed to be completed by April 2022. However, the deadline was extended twice, first to October 2022 and then to April 2023.