TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: The transport department will begin phasing out buses that are more than 15 years old starting April 2013, Transport Director Arun Dessai announced.
Speaking to media, Dessai said that they will begin phasing out 17-year-old buses this year and then move to 16 and 15 year old buses at the end of three years.
“We will remove all 15 year old buses from public transport system in a phased manner over the next three years,” Dessai said adding that the bus owners can avail of the government subsidy to buy new buses.
Dessai said that if a bus is more than 18 years old their permits for stage carriage will not be renewed. He also thanked private bus operators, Kadamba Transport Corporation employees as well as the tourist bus owners “for extending their cooperation during the strike days to ensure that the services were not affected on a very short notice call.”
STUDENTS AGITATION: Director Arun Dessai Friday said that the agitation of the Goa University students was uncalled for and a simple complaint to the transport department would have solved the problem.
“The ongoing agitation of the students is uncalled for. Whenever we have received complaints, immediately action has been taken by the officials of this department,” Dessai said adding that officials had increased enforcement and issued 292 challans in one month in January, of which 74 challans were for overcrowding.
