Bus services affected in Faridabad over staff shortage at Haryana Roadways workshop

Lack of adequate infrastructure and staff has affected the plying of buses on both long and city routes in an adverse manner. According to sources, with the availability of around 150 buses on long routes and another 50 buses on local routes, 20 to 30 per cent of buses are those which remain off the road due to breakdowns.

The time and efforts required to repair or replace damaged parts might increase considerably in view of the repair and upkeep facilities not meeting the requirements. “The workshop of the Haryana Roadways Department here is facing a shortage of mechanics up to 80 per cent, and it has resulted in a rise in repair-related problems,” said an employee.

Against the need of staff of around 100 mechanics, the local depot, which operates around 150 buses on long routes, has only around 20 to 22 mechanics at present. The situation turns critical in the absence of some of the employees — if they are on leave. The problem might get worse due the unavailability of spare parts and material in the workshop as these are sought from outside at many occasions. The problem had also exacerbated due to the fact that the posts that got vacant following retirement were not filled by duly trained people, and this made the department resort to part-time measures to tackle the issue, said a retired employee. As the depot had only one head mechanic against the demand of at least five such technicians, the workshop needed to be upgraded to meet the requirement as buses based on newer technology were being added every year, he added.

A similar problem has come to light in terms of the operation of the city bus service. Though a fleet of 50 buses is available with the local service, 20 to 25 per cent of the buses have reportedly not been maintained well. On Monday, as many as 12 buses of the city bus service remained off the road due to various reasons, including breakdown or unavailability of staff.

Improper or inadequate facility of the public transportation has paved way for growth of the private transport such as three-wheelers, including autorickshaws and E-rickshaws, resulting in traffic chaos and snarls in majority of the roads in the city,” says AK Gaur, a resident. He said the department was yet to start the plying of the electric buses though it was planned nearly two years ago.

Lekhraj, GM, Haryana Roadways, said the demand of more staff for the workshop had already been with the authorities concerned. He said around 120 out of the total 150 buses remained on road on any given day.