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PRTC incurs Rs 36 crore loss during lockdown, stares at financial crisis
The PRTC only came back on track last year, both financially and institutionally, after it started recording operational profit for the first time in a decade.
The state-run Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) has managed to survive a decade-long financial crisis but the ongoing lockdown has once again taken a toll on PRTC’s exchequer.
The PRTC has faced revenue loss of around Rs 36 crore in the 42-day long lockdown so far. The average per day loss is pegged at around Rs 85 lakh.
The PRTC only came back on track last year, both financially and institutionally, after it started recording operational profit for the first time in a decade.
Just before the state government disbanded the public transport service in wake of the Covid-19 pandemic on March 20, the corporation recorded a daily income of Rs 1.40 crore. Its monthly income has been estimated to be around 42 crore.
PRTC’s deputy controller (finance) Prem Chand said since the lockdown, the corporation had incurred an estimated loss of Rs 80 lakh per day.
“The figure is calculated after deducting the operational cost (including maintenance and expenses on diesel) from the last generated per day income of Rs 1.40 crore,” he said.
The deputy controller said since they had not generated any income for the last 40 days, they had struggled to meet committed expenses, amounting Rs 46 crore per month, during the lockdown.
One of the officials, seeking anonymity, said the corporation had exhausted its savings and funds in paying salaries and pensions to its employees for the months of March and April.
“The financial situation is so grim that the PRTC wil not be able to meet its committed liabilities in the coming months,” the official said.
Meanwhile, PRTC chairperson KK Sharma said the current period could be termed as ‘golden era’ of the PRTC, but there were some tough days ahead for the corporation due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“We will chalk out a strategy once the situation has normalised. It will be a huge challenge to bring PRTC’s finances back to where they were before the lockdown,” he said.
Sharma said, at present, they were helping the government with logistics.
In the past two years, besides tapping an increase in daily receipt and monopoly routes, image-building had helped the corporation generate a sizeable profit.
For the first time, in past one decade, the PRTC was running its full fleet of 1,073 buses under its nine depots –Ludhiana, Kapurthala, Chandigarh, Patiala, Bathinda, Budhlada, Barnala, Faridkot and Sangrur.
