HRTC to purchase 205 new buses

The minister said daily wagers working at bus stand will now be paid ₹ 275 a day as opposed to an hourly wage; at present, HRTC has 3,400 buses

The Himachal Pradesh Transport Corporation will soon add 205 new buses to add to its fleet, it was decided in a meeting of board of directors on Tuesday.

Transport minister Bikram Singh had presided over the meeting. At present, HRTC has 3,400 buses. The minister said daily wagers working at bus stand will now be paid ₹ 275 a day as opposed to an hourly wage. The directors also gave the nod to build a modern bus stand at Bilaspur, Rewalsar and Bhoranj. New bus stands will be built in Shimla and Dharamshala under the Smart City Mission.

Singh said the medical bills of all employees, and pensioners have been paid and instructions have been given to transfer pensions in a time-bound manner. “The staff are being paid on time and pending financial benefits are being released gradually.HRTC will start bus services on 317 inter-state routes,” he said, adding that the routes will be increased as occupancy increases.

An office of the transport corporation will be built at Nagrota Bagwan. The corporation will also construct a commercial complex at Theog and a workshop at Baijnath.