'Amritsar BRTS to run full throttle by Sep'

The Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) project of Amritsar city would be operating "full throttle" by September this year, it was informed in a meeting here today.

The trial run will begin by June end.

The decision was taken in a high-level meeting held here which was presided over by Local Government minister Navjot Singh Sidhu and Finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal.

All senior officers of the Local Government, Transport, Punjab Infrastructure Development Board, Public Works Department and Amritsar District Administration were also present in the meeting, an official statement said.

Sidhu said that approximately 1.25 lakh devotees come to pay obeisance daily at the Golden Temple, Amritsar.

Keeping this aspect in mind, the prestigious project of the holy city would be run at all costs, he said in the meeting.

He further said that it was decided that this project would be initiated full throttle by September, 2018 and all the buses would be run.

To ensure the running of the project on firm footing the buses would be run on a trial basis in June this year.

The Public Works Department officials informed the meeting that all the construction works concerning this project would be over by July.

Sidhu told reporters that over Rs 500 crore has already been pumped into the project and nearly 100 buses have been gathering dust. Therefore, it has been decided to give the project another push, he said.

Last month, Finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal had told the state Assembly that the Congress government in Punjab will try to run the "half-baked" and "ill-conceived" the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) in Amritsar, as hefty sums of money have already gone into the project.

Manpreet Badal had then said that a group of ministers will now suggest ways to take the project get back on track.

Amritsar BRTS is jointly funded by the Centre and Punjab on equal sharing basis and the total cost of the project was nearly Rs 495 crore.

In December, 2016, partial operations of the BRTS were started and presently only nine buses are plying, the state Assembly was informed.