Himachal Pradesh : 317 inter-state bus services will start from July 1: Transport Minister

Transport Minister Bikram Singh, while presiding over the meeting of the Board of Directors of Himachal Road Transport Corporation here today, reviewed the progress of the Corporation and stressed upon the need to do it with dedication keeping in view the priority of the works. Expressing satisfaction over the progress of the works being done under HRTC, he said that in this time of Corona pandemic, the Corporation is rendering its services to the people with the spirit of commitment and dedication.

The Transport Minister said that keeping in mind the convenience of the people, 317 inter-state buses will be started from July 1, 2021. These will include 15 Volvo buses, four deluxe and 298 ordinary buses. Adherence to Kovid-19 guidelines will also be ensured in inter-state buses.

It was decided in the meeting that the nine-year and zero book value buses would be recommended to be declared unserviceable. In order to maintain the number of buses and to ensure the safety of the passengers, new buses will be procured soon. The Transport Minister said that a total of 205 diesel buses would be purchased at a cost of Rs 86.15 crore. These include 115 normal 47 seater buses, 30 general 37 seater buses, 50 AC buses, five AC super luxury buses and five tempo traveler to Bharmour in Chamba district.
Bikram Singh said that the construction work of commercial premises and parking would be started at Una Bus Stand. He suggested the officers to utilize the funds under smart city projects in Shimla and Dharamsala for upgradation and improvement work of facilities under HRTC and Transport Department.

It was also decided in the meeting that the beneficiaries of PPP basis projects of Tuticandi, Kangra, Chintpurni and Una bus stands in Shimla would be given relief in annual concession fee. This relief will be applicable on the annual concession fee during the first wave of COVID-19. The civil wing of the Bus Stand Management and Development Authority at Nagrota Bagwan will be reopened and technical staff will be deployed in the wing.

Bikram Singh said that Dharampur and Jogindernagar bus depots of district Mandi should be made functional at the earliest for the convenience of the people of the areas. Apart from this, post-facto approval was also given for bus sub-depot at Janjehli in district Mandi. He said that a new bus stand would be made functional at Sansarpur in Kangra district. Bus stands will be constructed on PPP mode at Baijnath and Jasur in Kangra.

In the meeting, apart from modernization of Bus Stand Bilaspur, it was also decided to modernize the workshops of HRTC at Dharamshala in Kangra district and Dhalli in Shimla district under Smart City project.

Earlier, Sandeep Kumar, Managing Director, Himachal Road Transport Corporation welcomed the Transport Minister and conducted the proceedings of the meeting.

Vijay Agnihotri, Vice Chairman, Board of Directors of HRTC proposed vote of thanks. He said that HRTC and Tourism Department have suffered the most due to Corona epidemic. He suggested holding regular meetings of the Board of Directors so that the issues related to HRTC could be resolved expeditiously.

Additional Chief Secretary Transport Ram Subhag Singh, Director Transport Anupam Kashyap and other official and non-official members of the Board of Directors were also present on the occasion.