Himachal acts: No night halt for state buses in Punjab; service suspended on 20 routes

In Shimla, HRTC divisional manager Raj Kumar Pathak said the buses that were vandalised were parked for the night at Amritsar and had to further proceed to Bilaspur, Dehra and Una.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri termed the latest attack on the buses as “very unfortunate” and said the government will soon take a decision on the matter and inform the Vidhan Sabha.

In the ongoing Budget session of the Vidhan sabha, the Opposition members had questioned Agnihotri, who also hold the transport portfolio, on what action the government was planning on repeated attacks on the state-run buses in the neighbouring Punjab.

“HRTC buses ply on 600 routes in Punjab. Until the Punjab government assures us of their safety, the buses will not be parked at night in Punjab. They would be brought back to Himachal borders. We may suspend our bus services on some routes,” the deputy CM told reporters.

Agnihotri said that the HRTC was not a party to any dispute, yet “some anti-social elements are doing mischief by damaging the property of the state”. He said, “Himachal Pradesh DGP has spoken to his Punjab counterpart in this regard. FIRs are being registered (in Punjab) and arrests are being made. Safety of staff and passengers is our priority”.

HRTC Managing Director (MD) Nipun Jindal told The Indian Express that they have curtailed bus services on 20 routes in Amritsar, Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur and Ludhiana districts and confirmed that vehicles will not halt for the night stay in these Punjab districts.

“Buses at these stations are parked unattended. Whenever the situation returns to normal, the curtailed bus services will be resumed. The bus service will continue in the four districts of Punjab during the daytime,” he said, urging “people of Punjab to not damage the public property which is being also used by the people of all the states”.

The HRTC had on Wednesday suspended its services on 10 routes in Punjab following the attack on its bus in Kharar. Prior to that, some unidentified men had pelted a Jalandhar-Manali bus with stones and plastered Bhindranwale’s posters on it folllowing which an FIR was registered in Sirhind. In yet another incident, the driver and conductor of a bus were threatened when they resisted such attempts.

The attacks on HRTC buses and even some private vehicles bearing Himachal registration numbers began soon after some locals in the hill state removed flags bearing Bhindranwale’s image from the motorbikes of a group of youths from Punjab.

In the Vidhan Sabha in Shimla, Agnihotri informed that the attacks on the state-run buses began following an altercation between some youths from Punjab and Himachal at the Manikaran Barrier in Kullu district where the Special Area Development Authority imposes a fee of Rs 50 on two-wheelers and Rs 100 on four-wheelers coming from outside the state. The tourists from Punjab had opposed the fee arguing that no such charge was imposed on two-wheelers anywhere else in the country, Agihotri said.

Speaking in the House, BJP MLA from Churah, Hans Raj, said, “We should strictly deal with the issue of our buses being attacked in Punjab”.

Meanwhile, All India Anti Terrorist Front said incidents of pasting Bhindranwale’s posters on HRTC buses were an attempt to disturb the peace of Himachal.

Front’s national president Viresh Shandilya said they will put up Bharat Mata’s posters on  Punjab Roadways buses coming to ISBT, Shimla and will raise Bharat Mata’s slogans in a peaceful manner.

Shandilya also urged the central intelligence agencies and Union Home Minister to take cognizance of these incidents.