Ludhiana: Passengers stranded as government buses used to ferry AAP workers
The state’s transport department has issued letters to all Punjab Roadways and PRTC depots to provide buses for the Patiala rally
After Punjab Roadways and PRTC dispatched a total of 169 buses from Ludhiana to facilitate the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) political rally in Patiala on Monday, the massive mobilisation of buses led to an impact on bus services, with approximately 70 percent of services disrupted at Ludhiana bus stand throughout the day.
The rally witnessed the presence and addresses by chief minister Bhagwant Mann and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal.
The state’s transport department has issued letters to all Punjab Roadways and PRTC depots to provide buses for the Patiala rally. Out of 225 total buses from Ludhiana, 169 buses were allocated to various constituencies to transport AAP leaders to the event. Punjab Roadways assigned 16 buses to the Central constituency, and 10 each to the West, East and North constituency, 13 to the Atam Nagar constituency, 20 each to Jagraon and Dakha constituency. Additionally, PRTC allocated 70 buses to various areas in Ludhiana.
For instance, on Amritsar routes, where there are usually around 150 time slots allocated, only 50 slots were operational due to the bus shortage. Similarly, for Chandigarh routes, only 75 time slots were assigned to Punjab Roadways and PRTC buses, compared to the regular allocation of 180 time slots. The Ambala route faced a similar situation, with only 25 time slots allocated compared to the usual 50. This transportation mobilization had a direct impact on daily services, inconveniencing commuters in the region.
Jasmeet Kaur, a passenger, expressed her frustration and said, “This is a common occurrence with the AAP party, as they are using public funds for their political rallies. On one hand, the government offers free fares for women on government buses, but on the other hand, most buses are unavailable on Monday, causing significant problems for female passengers. I had to wait for nearly two hours to catch an Amritsar-bound bus at the bus stand because I didn’t have enough cash, knowing that there’s no fee for women’s travel.”
An official from the bus stand commented, “These buses are frequently used for political rallies and events, causing losses to the transport department. On average, a bus earns a profit of ₹10,000 per day on any route, and the government bore a loss of around ₹17 lakh just from Ludhiana. This is a wastage of public funds.”
Navraj Battish, the general manager of the bus stand, added, “We were instructed to send a large number of buses to different constituencies across the city. We have dispatched over 50 percent of Punjab Roadway buses to various areas.”
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