Tribune News Service

Amritsar, May 5

The Department of Local Government, which took over the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) from the Punjab Infrastructure Development Board (PIDB) last year, seems to have failed in providing basic maintenance to buses and Metro stations. The digital displays of Metro buses being run under the BRTS project are lying defunct and staff of Metro Bus Service have pasted “print-out papers” on buses, mentioning the routes.

The staff claim that they have informed the office about the defunct digital display screens. There are separate firms for maintenance of digital media, buses and infrastructure on station, which reportedly causes delay in maintenance.

The service is being operated by hiring several private firms which take care of maintenance, security and operation. The delay in the communication and lack of coordination between various firms leads to the delay in the maintenance of buses, corridor and stations. A large number of grills and traffic signs are missing from the corridor.

Anil Kumar, Chief Executive Officer, said: “We have written to the company concerned hired for maintenance. We will also write to the local bodies for the same. The issue would be addressed soon.”

It is worth mentioning here that the BRTS was a dream project of former Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, which faced numerous challenges since its inauguration on December 16, 2016. Despite tall claims, the Congress government failed to make the project financially viable.

The state government spends around Rs3 crore every month on the salaries of employees, fuel and other operating costs. And the revenue generated from the project is not enough to pay salary to staff or maintenance. The number of passengers has not increased during the last one year. Around 25,000 persons would travel daily on Metro buses before the government imposed a partial lockdown. Now the number has further dipped. This ridership is not sufficient to make the project self-sustainable.

Punjab Municipal Infrastructure Development Company (PMIDC), a wing of the Local Government Department, had officially taken over the project from the PIDB on October 1 last year.