Addressing media persons on Friday, Agnihotri, who holds the Transport portfolio, highlighting the decisions taken in the Board of Directors meeting, informed that it was decided to grant approval to fill 171 regular posts of JOA (IT) in the corporation.
Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri, who also holds the portfolio of Transport Department, has sought support of the people of the state, especially the opposition to smoothly run Himachal Pradesh Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) the lifeline of the state.
HRTC Managing Director Rohan Chand Thakur said the gesture, aimed at celebrating the bond between brothers and sisters, resulted in a total subsidy amount foregone by HRTC of Rs 78.64 lakhs for the day.
He congratulated the HRTC and acknowledged its unparalleled contribution to the development of Himachal Pradesh.
Agnihotri, who also holds the portfolio of Transport Department, said that the process of appointing 357 conductors has also been completed and soon they will be providing their services.
The chief minister said that roads are lifelines of the economy for the hilly states like Himachal Pradesh. He said that this makes the role of drivers of the HRTC buses further more important.
The seven new routes approved include Mandi-Paidi via Taliyar up to Saihal, Sarkaghat to Tihra via Garli up to Sakohta, Shimla-Anu via Juni, new bus services from Sundernagar for Bari school children and common citizen, Mandi to Sarkaghat bus service via Durgapur, Sujanpur to Galoti bus service via Lahru Gloti instead of Bhedi-Naag Mandir Lahru, and Hoshiyarpur-Chambapattan-Jawalaji bus service has been extended to Til.
Education Minister Suresh Bhardwaj faced protest from locals, who blamed the government's callousness towards the safety of the passengers.
BK Agarwal directed that since road safety campaign is focussing on overloading, the HRTC should be prepared to provide alternate transportation to stranded people and it must be ensured that general public does not face any inconvenience.
Taking every possible step to ensure good road facility across the state, he said that out of 90 black spots identified by police department, 71 have been rectified by Public Works Department (PWD) and remaining will be rectified in due course.
