Punjab: Wary of action, private operators take buses off road

Karam Prakash

Tribune News Service

Patiala, October 15

Following a clampdown, many private bus operators have taken their buses off the road which were running without permits. In the past two weeks, many operators have reportedly stopped their buses on key routes to avoid action.

A main player on the Patiala-Ropar route has already cut down his buses by 70 per cent, while another withdrew his Volvo buses on the Chandigarh-Bathinda route.

A senior official of the PRTC said, “Many private operators have stopped the service after the government started impounding buses. Consequently, we will be running more buses on these routes.”

PRTC officials claimed their income had gone up by Rs 17 lakh daily after regular inspections by Transport Minister Amrinder Singh Raja Warring. The daily income had gone up from Rs 1.70 crore to Rs 1.87 crore, they said.

Warring, during an inspection at the Patiala bus stand, said the government would continue to impound all private buses running without paying tax to the government. “We will not spare anyone. The clampdown so far is just a trailer,” he said.

The minister claimed there were still many private buses running on roads without paying tax to the government. “In the coming days, we will fix the accountability of officials, he said.

Meanwhile, PRTC conductor Milkha Singh, 28, was honoured by Warring for being the “best conductor”. Warring gave Rs 5,100 to the conductor for his dedication.