Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, June 9: Minis-ter of State for Transport, Sunil Sharma, today said that the Jammu Kashmir State Road Transport Corporation (JKSRTC) is going to introduce a new fleet of AC buses within two months under Private-Public Partnership mode which will offer world-class transport facility to people at affordable rates.
Winding up the discussion on Demand of Grants for Transport Department, Sharma said JKSRTC is an important asset in the kitty of Government and every step will be taken to revive its glory. ”I assure this House that with the same set of people and same infrastructure, the Corporation which has run into losses for decades will see no losses during the financial year 2016-17. Under PPP mode, we have signed an MoU under which a fleet of top class AC buses will be introduced on different routes within two months”.
Detailing his vision before the House, Minister said that Transport Department has also signed an MoU with J&K Bank under which new buses and trucks are being procured by JKSRTC. “The new buses will run on all the important routes in the State including Baramulla to Srinagar, Anantnag to Srinagar, Kupwara to Srinagar, Jammu to Srinagar, Poonch to Srinagar, Doda to Jammu, Poonch to Doda, besides other vital roads between various districts of the State,” he said.
The Transport Minister said the State Government is in talks with the Centre to start water transport service in Kashmir Valley, which will ease off burden from the already congested roads. He said that for the first time in the history of J&K, the Government is going to implement a comprehensive Road Safety Policy in the State.
He said that the PDP-BJP Coalition Government is focusing on bringing transparency in licensing authority by introducing a new policy under which Smart Cards fitted with electronic chips will be provided instead of licenses to check the menace of fake licenses.
The Transport Minister said that two specialized institutes for driving and training of drivers of commercial vehicles are coming up in Jammu and Kashmir and a proposal has been sent to the Government of India for setting up Inspection Certification Centres in the state to check excessive pollution-emitting vehicles.
Sharma said that the State Government is also going to introduce colour coding for different types of commercial vehicles which will be fitted with Speed Governors and GPS systems. The Minister said that feasibility for Anantnag-Kishtwar bus service is being examined.
Later, the House passed the grants for the year 2016-17, which were moved by the Minister, amounting to Rs 93.02 crore with voice vote.
Earlier, taking part in the discussion, Qamar Hussain said that the bus service to Shahdara Sharif and Peer Balisar in his constituency has been stopped. He said that large numbers of vehicles are plying on fake registration and there are large numbers of accidental compensation cases pending. He demanded strengthening of SRTC. He demanded action against the transporters whose vehicles are running on fake documents.
MLA Ramban said that more people are killed in accidents than militancy. He demanded proper checking of overloading and mismanagement. G M Saroori said that there is no disaster management mechanism along Batote-Kishtwar road which is highly accident prone. He demanded that the Srinagar-Kishtwar bus service that was running for last several years should be restarted.
Mubarak Gul said that the House Committee was formed on frequent accidents and demanded that recommendations of the committee be implemented. Shah Mohammad Tantray demanded fresh transport policy as the accidents are on rise. He demanded restoration of Srinagar-Surankote bus services and bus services on the other roads.
Kishan Lal said better roads and better vehicles can reduce accidents. He demanded more SRTC buses for his constituency. He expressed concern over increase in accidents and demanded trauma hospital in the area.
Pawan Gupta said SRTC has no proper accounting system and there are no proper balance sheets. He demanded formation of a committee that will look into its rejuvenation. He said under norms the accident victims are to be given Rs 35, 000 within a week but it is not given. He said that the issuance of permits be made easy.
Unjum Fazili said there are very less buses running in Srinagar and new buses be introduced while as Vikar Rasool said accidents are on rise and Government is not serious to deal with it. Akbar Lone said that the SRTC higher ups should look into the problems faced by the employees. M Y Tarigami said that House Committee prepared a report on areas of concern and gave recommendations about preventing road mishaps. He said that action taken report on the recommendations of House Committee be brought before this House in this session only.
Yawar Mir asked why are less number of SRTC buses operational. He said Government is not taking the PSUs seriously. Dilip Singh Parihar said that there is no bus service on link roads in his constituency and demanded SRTC services on these routes.
Asghar Karbalaie said that Government is allowing tourist vehicles up to zero point on Zojila but the Kargil and Leh bound vehicles are allowed till 12 noon only. He demanded more bus services on various routes in Kargil district. He demand Kargil-Jammu and Kargil-Delhi bus service.
Majid Paddar demanded that the overloading menace should be tackled on top priority while as Shakti Parihar said that at one time SRTC had a fleet of 40 buses in Doda and now it has been reduced to 4 and out of these two are always out of order.
Abdul Majid Larmi expressed concern over the dozens of nakas on national highway between Jammu and Srinagar, adding there is no SRTC bus service operating in Kulgam and demanded woman bus service. Shameema Firdous said SRTC was safe mode of transport and expressed concern over its depleting fleet.
Engineer Abdul Rashid Sheikh said that SRTC buses were running in his constituency and services have been discontinued. He demanded 3 SRTC buses for his constituency. Aijaz Khan said that fare should be regulated for private buses, mini buses and taxis. He said only few SRTC buses are running in his constituency and demanded more bus services.
Ashfaq Jabbar said that issuing of driving licenses should be video-graphed. He said that the route permits are being violated grossly. He demanded fixation of rates. Raja Manzoor demanded that menace of overloading should be tackled in Keran. He demanded more passenger bus on internal routes of Keran and Karnah.
Dr Gagan Bhagat said that private operators are running 20 years old buses in RS Pura. He said that the pollution norms are not followed. He said that the SRTC was running double decker buses in the area but it is no longer running and demanded its restoration. He demanded more SRTC buses and mini-buses to RS Pura from Jammu.
Usman Majid expressed concern over the increase in levels of pollution. He demanded that the water transport should be introduced. He demanded metros for Srinagar and Jammu. He demanded that training courses on traffic rules should be conducted for drivers.
Bashir Ahmad Dar asked why SRTC is in losses and demand that it should be outsourced. He expressed concern over the alarming increase in road accidents. Altaf Kaloo expressed concern over use of kerosene oil in vehicles. He suggested that not more than two vehicle registrations should be given a family. He also suggested introduction of water transport.
Follow our WhatsApp channel