Couldn’t ply roadways buses up to Delhi int’l airport: Razia

Expressing helplessness in making the Punjab roadways buses ply up to the international airport in the national capital, state transport minister Razia Sultana on Tuesday said all efforts made by her top take up the matter with Delhi government have failed.

Answering a calling attention motion moved by Lok Insaaf Party (LIP) MLA Simarjeet Singh Bains, the minister requested the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs to accompany her to Delhi to resolve the matter.

Bains told the House that state government buses are stopped but the Badals-owned buses run by private companies such as Orbit Transport, Taj Transport, Deep Bus Service, Indo Canadian Bus Service and Hargobind Transport were operating on the same route.

Razia said till 2018, the roadways buses were plying from different parts of Punjab to the Delhi international airport but the permits were terminated after a petition was filed in the Supreme Court and buses we allowed not to go beyond Kashmere Gate outside the inter-state bus terminal.

“I took up matter with the Delhi transport minister and the chef minister in September and in November 2019 but got no reply,” she added.

The transport department, she claimed, is full of complications and she was trying to simplify its functioning.

AAP’s Aman Arora said he was willing to help transport minister in deal with the Delhi government.

“But how the Badals-owned private companies are plying 10 buses against one permit right under the nose of the state government?” he asked the minister.

Answering a calling attention motion by AAP legislator Baljinder Kaur on water supply to the Talwandi Sabo thermal plant, water resources minister Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria said the town is provided irrigation and drinking water form distributaries of the Kotla branch and Bhakra main line branch.

He said the thermal plant is given water from the Jagga branch and supply of water to thermal plant was not impacting supply for irrigation and drinking purposes.

Public works department (PWD) minister Vijay Inder Singla told the House that the work on laying 3.72 km sewage pipes from Tarksheel Chowk to the Sanghera bypass in Barnala was under process.

Replying to Barnala MLA Meet Haher, Singla said construction of road on the stretch would complete within six months after clearance from the sewerage department.