GMCBL bus operator wants to stop services in F’bad, cites lack of infra

Gurugram: Faridabad does not have any bus depots that can repair buses of the Gurugram Metropolitan City Bus Limited (GMCBL) which operate there even after three years of the bus service, officials aware of the matter said adding that the severe lack of maintenance has started posing safety hazards for the fleet.

One of these buses was being taken to Gurugram for repairs when it caught fire near Ghata area in Sector-56 on Sunday, they said.

According to the officials, one of the two concessionaires of GMCBL which operates 50 buses from the Ballabgarh depot in Faridabad, has written to the agency about a fortnight ago indicating that they would discontinue their operations in Faridabad. They said that they had decided to discontinue services there after waiting for critical infrastructure for nearly three years.

GMCBL authorities said that soon after receiving the letter, the concessionaire was told to bring half the number of buses to the Sector-52 depot in Gurugram every night to carry out necessary repair work as a temporary arrangement.

Officials said that the bus that caught fire only had its crew onboard when a fire broke out in the engine compartment. It soon engulfed the entire vehicle. Fire department officials said that the driver stopped and attempted to douse the flames using an extinguisher inside the vehicle but failed.

By the time fire tenders reached the spot, the bus was gutted. This was the first such incident, where a GMCBL bus was reduced to ashes since it began operation in 2018.

Soon after the incident, officials pointed out that the non-maintenance of the buses posed a huge safety hazard to the rest of the fleet which operates in Faridabad.

They said that such was the condition of the infrastructure that eight of the buses were submerged in water there after heavy rainfall on June 28. Six buses were pulled out with cranes and made functional after repairs but engines of the other two were still not working, officials said.

GMCBL chief executive officer, Munish Sharma said, that 25 buses will now start plying from Gurugram every day after necessary maintenance is carried out overnight.

“Earlier, hardly 8-10 buses were brought here every day which was inadequate since no infrastructure exists for the fleet in Ballabgarh,” he added.

“The concessionaire was promised that a depot and infrastructure would be provided but the work did not take off. At present, temporary arrangements have been made to operate half the number of buses from Gurugram as they cannot be withdrawn completely from public service,” Sharma said.

“Once the 100 e-buses arrive for Faridabad, all the GMCBL buses will be recalled to operate in Gurugram,” he added.

“GMCBL imposed a hefty penalty of about ₹11.5 crore on us between August 2021 and June 2024 for delays, non-operation on certain routes, breakdowns and uncleanliness which is solely because we are unable to maintain, repair or wash them in the absence of infrastructure that the government had promised to provide,” he said adding that GMCBL officials had assured to take up the penalty issue in the next board meeting of the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA).

GMCBL has a fleet of 208 buses of which 158 operate in Gurugram from Sector-10 and Sector-52 depot. The remaining 50 buses were deployed for operation from the Ballabgarh depot, Faridabad from August 2021 with the promise of developing necessary infrastructure for them which has not come up even after directions from former Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar to officials to execute plans on the ground by April 30 last year.