Punjab Roadways too making profits

JALANDHAR After incurring huge monthly losses in the past, the Punjab Roadways has started earning a profit of crores of rupees from its depots in Doaba region over the past six months.

The reason behind the turnaround is a rescheduling in plying timings of state-run buses on many important routes, including the one to Delhi Airport, after the Congress government cancelled many route permits of private buses in April this year.

Officials said the profit of the roadways depots are increasing by around 10% every month for the past six months.

In November, the Jalandhar depot 1 of the Punjab Roadways had earned a profit of Rs 1.04 crore, followed by Jalandhar depot 2 Rs 21.83 lakh, SBS Nagar depot Rs 22 lakh and Hoshiarpur depot Rs 16 lakh.

The Jalandhar depot 1 had made Rs 95 lakh in October and Rs 80 lakh in September whereas Jalandhar depot 2 had earned Rs 15 lakh in October and Rs 10 lakh in September.

Similarly, SBS Nagar depot earned Rs 13 lakh in October and Rs 8 lakh in September. The Hoshiarpur depot had made about Rs 14 lakh in two months.

Sources said that in previous financial years, the roadways used to incur huge monthly losses because of faulty buses and lack of proper services on important routes due to the monopoly of private buses.