PRTC resumes bus service, to file ₹5-crore claim for losses

PATIALA:After remaining off road for four days due to law and order situation, the Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) resumed its bus service from its nine depots to parts of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday.

The bus service to Samana and Patran in Patiala district remains suspended due to curfew restrictions. The corporation had suspended its bus services across Punjab, Haryana and Delhi from August 24, a day before a special CBI court in Panchkula pronounced verdict against Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.

PRTC managing director Manjit Singh Narang said the situation is under control and the general managers of all depots have been directed to resume the bus service. “The seat occupancy remained between 10% and 15% on Sunday,” Narang said.

The corporation has decided to resume heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) and Volvo buses on long routes only after the situation turns normal in Punjab and Haryana.

Meanwhile, the cash strapped PRTC claimed to have faced a loss of ₹5 five crore in the past three days due to suspension of bus service. “We have incurred loss of around ₹5 crore in the past three days,” Narang said. Since the Punjab and Haryana high court had directed to make recovery of losses from the dera, the PRTC will submit a list of losses in the court, he said.

“We have contacted Patiala deputy commissioner who has asked the PRTC to prepare the list of losses, so that the same can be submitted to Punjab government to claim losses from the dera,” Narang said. The daily revenue of PRTC is around ₹1.25 crore.