SRTC resumes service to Delhi after four days

The State Road Transport Corporation (SRTC) bus service that was badly affected by the Jat agitation in Haryana resumed today after four days.
The cancellation of the bus services caused inconvenience to passengers, including Mata Vaishno Devi pilgrims.
Meanwhile, the vehicular traffic resumed on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway, today. Four SRTC buses left Jammu today for Delhi on their scheduled time.
“There was restricted movement of buses in the past four days, causing inconvenience to passengers. We had no option,” said Tejinder Singh, manager, interstate passenger service, SRTC.
“The buses are on their way and we are monitoring their movement while being in touch with various stations en route,” said Tejinder.
The SRTC manager acknowledged that not plying the corporation buses during the Jat agitation had hit revenue generation.
Private bus operators, however, plied their buses even during the troubled period.
The private operators took a long route, bypassing the normal route, to ferry passengers to Delhi.
“We did not stop our services and decided to go ahead via Uttar Pradesh to drop our customers in Delhi. We had told the passengers that it will take them more time to reach their destination through a longer route,” said Tilak Raj, owner of the Libra Bus Service in Jammu.
Other private bus operators also took the longer route to Delhi.
“No, we did not charge anything extra. Besides, the drivers who ply our buses are from Haryana and they know the shortcuts,” said Suresh Kumar, manager, Ashiana Travels, Jammu.
Suresh said the route taken by the private operators took diversion from Saharanpur and passed through Meerut to reach Delhi.
One of the tour operators said that since there was cut throat competition between bus operators, the owners could not afford to not ply their buses.
“The SRTC is a government department and can suspend its services, but private bus operators cannot afford to do so,” he said.
The Jat agitation led to violent clashes, leading to death and destruction in Haryana. The trains and buses plying from Jammu to other states have been severely affected due to the agitation.