JALANDHAR, JUNE 15
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal jointly flagged off two buses from the Jalandhar bus stand to the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, New Delhi, on Wednesday. They said with the launch of the service, they had put an end to the transport mafia in the state.
“Our Transport Department will run its buses and the private player will also continue to run its buses to the airport. Let’s see which service the NRIs prefer. Ours will offer better facilities and will charge less than half the fare they are charging. We will take six months’ advance booking too and refund 100 per cent of the ticket amount if it is to be cancelled 24 hours prior to the scheduled departure,” said Mann.
The CM said, “I assure all Punjabis settled in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Sydney, Melbourne and London that there will be no loot by bus companies in Punjab unlike in the past when the private players forced them to shell out as high as Rs 4,000-5,000 for one trip. Our maximum fare is Rs 1,390 from Amritsar, which is the farthest of all the pick-up points.”
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal described the government under Mann as “fiercely honest” which had not hesitated to take “hard decisions”. He said, “In three months, with the same set of officials and staff, we have changed the scenario. In 70 years, such tough decisions and such an attack against corruption were never seen. The previous governments did not even let the government buses ply.”
Kejriwal also claimed to have ended the mafia in transfers and postings. “We have taken back 5,500 acres from illegal occupants. In the coming budget session, the jobs of the teachers will be regularized,” he said.
The AAP convener said the Opposition was raking up a false propaganda against the AAP government over law and order. “Has Mann brought in the gangsters with him now? They were already there, getting patronage from various SAD and Congress politicians. We are only trying to put them all behind bars. Now if a crime takes place, the accused gets arrested in 24 to 36 hours. We have arrested 130 gangsters in three months. Even in jails, the VIP culture was prevailing, which has ended now.”
“Our government is working to put an end to drug trade but it will take time. Just keep faith in. We will make Punjab ‘rangla’ soon,” he said.
Before the start of the event, Mann and Kejriwal paid tributes to Shaheed-e-Azam Sardar Bhagat Singh’s statute at the bus stand.
Delhi airport bus service marks end of transport mafia: Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann
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