E-Paper
City bus service has few routes, DAV College students harried
Students of DAV College, Jalandhar, are a harried lot since there are not many routes of city bus service to Rama Mandi, PAP Chowk, BSF Chowk and HMV College, as a result of which they have to spend extra money on other modes of transport to reach their destination.
Students of DAV College, Jalandhar, are a harried lot since there are not many routes of city bus service to Rama Mandi, PAP Chowk, BSF Chowk and HMV College, as a result of which they have to spend extra money on other modes of transport to reach their destination.
These students come to the college after boarding buses which take longer routes from different areas of the city and also the adjoining districts.
Not only students, the college staff too is forced to commute longer distances to reach the college and have to spend money on hiring auto-rickshaws everyday.
The 14 buses run by the Municipal Corporation Jalandhar (MCJ) have their route from the bus stand to Kartarpur and they cover DAV College on their way. But then, they do not cover many areas of the city and hence focusing on the outer city areas only.
The city bus starts from the bus stand at 6:40 am and then passes through BMC Chowk, Nakodar Chowk, Football Chowk, Kapurthala Chowk, Workshop Chowk, DAV College, Maqsoodan, Bidhipur crossing and then reaches Kartarpur after an hour.
Mayor Sunil Jyoti said, "I am aware of the problem. We have asked the bus management agency to change the routes of some buses."
Vox pop
"I come from BSF Chowk everyday. I have to change at least three auto-rickshaws and spend Rs 40 extra to reach the college as the local buses have no route covering this side."
— Sangeeta Bisht, a journalism student
"I often reach college late as I have to come first come from Urban Estate Phase-2 to the bus stand on my scooter and then take city bus from there. I end up wasting over half an hour as the bus halts at every single stoppage."
— Mehak Sharma, student
"Girls face trouble due to a heavy rush in the bus. There is a need to increase the number of buses to so that girls feel comfortable commuting in these buses."
— Ramandeep Kaur, DAV College student
"There is no route of local buses to Rama Mandi where I come from. It will be better for students if the MC starts a new route from Rama Mandi Chowk to DAV College with a halt at HMV College. It will save the students' time by over half an hour."
— Sukhjinder Kaur, BCA student
"The city buses are so dirty and overcrowded which makes it difficult to travel in them, especially during the summer. This is the reason most of the students prefer to come to college in their own conveyances."
— Gurpinder Singh, humanities student
