Telco’s Shimla tour calms PCMT men

PUNE, July 16: For members of the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Transport (PCMT) committee, the eight-day tour to Shimla in Himachal Pradesh...

PUNE, July 16: For members of the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Transport (PCMT) committee, the eight-day tour to Shimla in Himachal Pradesh appears to have smoothened their ruffled feathers.

The members who were on a “study-tour” to examine functioning of the buses given to the Himachal Pradesh Road Transport Corporation (HPRTC) by industrial giant Telco have concluded that the transport undertaking in that state initially faced “more or less similar problems” as were faced by the PCMT when the buses were taken. The tour had been arranged by Telco after complaints emerged regarding functioning of the buses taken by PCMT in January.

PCMT chairman Prakash Malshetty and other nine members who joined the tour said that the buses taken by HPRTC were plying in good condition. The HPRTC faced more or less similar problems, but considering the huge extent of their operations and the availability of trained manpower with them, the problems were not felt seriously, a joint statement of all the members stated.

The members felt the need for giving proper training to the drivers and employees at the workshop so that PCMT buses too function properly. The members said that in view of the stringent pollution norms to be implemented in the coming years, there was a need to consider the same type of buses which had low emission levels. It was therefore necessary that the drivers and workshop employees get the required technical knowhow, the statement said.

The tour had attracted much significance as the complaints about the buses were being discussed more frequently. The PCMT had purchased the 30 buses nearly after a gap of five years and invariably the decision to take the buses from Telco had come under the cloud. A series of meetings were held with Telco.