Opened by Akali govt in 2016, bus stand in Punjab’s Tarn Taran re-inaugurated by AAP minister

Punjab transport minister Laljit Singh Bhullar on Monday inaugurated a building of the Jhabhal town’s bus stand, which was constructed and already inaugurated during the tenure of Shiromani Akali Dal government in 2016.

Punjab transport minister Laljit Singh Bhullar on Monday inaugurated a building of the Jhabhal town’s bus stand, which was constructed and already inaugurated during the tenure of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) government in 2016.

The bus stand building, the foundation stone of which was laid by the then SAD deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal in December 2015, was constructed at the cost of ₹ 2.5 crore. (HT photo)

The bus stand building, the foundation stone of which was laid by the then SAD deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal in December 2015, was constructed at the cost of ₹ 2.5 crore. The building was constructed in a year and inaugurated by the then Tarn Taran MLA Harmeet Singh Sandhu on December 26, 2016, around a month before the state assembly elections.

“The bus stand was constructed by the Zila Parishad in 2016, but was lying dysfunctional for the last seven years and no bus entered here. This bus stand has now been functional with the efforts of Tarn Taran MLA Kashmir Singh Sohal. I urge sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Rajneesh Arora and the general manager (GM), Roadways, to make sure the entering of all buses in the bus stand. Those buses which don’t enter the bus stand should be challenged and bounded,” Bhullar said.

The minister said the bus stand was not allowed to open by the last Congress government, for it was constructed by the Akali Dal government.

He said, “Our government’s motive is to start all the works which give benefit to the public. Earlier governments used to gain political mileage by stopping each other’s work. Due to the closure of the bus stand, ₹ 1.5 to 2 lakh loss was being incurred by the government. Now, the shops of the bus stand will also be given on rent.”

A senior official of Tarn Taran district administration, who didn’t wish to be named, said, “It is technically wrong to inaugurate the same project was already inaugurated, but we are bound to obey the government’s orders. The minister and the concerned department should have issued instructions to bus operators to use the bus stand building instead of its re-inauguration.”

When asked about new changes in the building, GM, Roadways, Surjit Singh Grewal, said the building had only been lying closed and there are no major renovations done in it. He declined having any political pressure on the department for the closure of the building for the last seven years. “It was just neglected as it was in the rural area,” he said.

When asked why the department had not made efforts to ensure the operations of the bus stand in the last seven years, he said, “The directions have now been issued to bus operators.”

Sources said only a whitewash was done before the re-inauguration of the bus stand building. Ironically, even after the re-inauguration, no bus had entered the building on Monday, according to some people of the town. Most of the buses stop at the main roundabout in the town.

Meanwhile, former MLA Harmeet Singh Sandhu said, “The project was made fully functional at the time of its inauguration. The AAP government has been leaving no stone unturned to take the credits of work done by the government. Earlier, the rural dispensaries of the state were converted into mohalla clinics by the state government. The state government should focus on the promises made by it before coming to the power instead of claiming fake fame on the works of the other governments.”