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Time of India
9 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
2 years on, city lacks infra needed to run promised e-buses
Ludhiana: Almost two years have passed since the Centre announced Ludhiana as one of the recipients of 100 e-buses for the industrial city but the infrastructure required to make the buses operational is missing. Civic officials have not finalised the firm to handle construction and renovation of two bus depots, where infrastructure will be maintained for the bus service. The previous tenders did not mature and now, there are chances of them being floated again. The buses are to be provided under PM E Bus Sewa by the central government. The civic body floated tenders for construction and renovation of the bus depots at Hambran Road and Ghora Colony in April. Three firms participated in the process. However, officials said that since they did not fulfil technical conditions, they would have to follow the process again, and fresh tenders would be called. In the absence of the bus depots, the civic body is unable to receive 100 electric buses from the Centre under PM E Bus Sewa. Civic officials have been planning renovation of the bus depots for more than one year but changes in the estimates delayed the tendering process. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo Estimates worth Rs 12.33 crore were prepared for Ghora Colony and Rs 5.86 crore for Hambran Road. The initial cost was estimated at Rs 14.71 crore and Rs 7.04 crore respectively but changes were made after senior officials objected to the high cost. The bus depots are being prepared to provide space to park electric buses when they are not running on the roads or when they are charging. MC commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal confirmed that tenders will be floated again due to technical reasons. As for the buses, he said that the Centre had to provide them. In 2023, the city was selected under PM E Bus Sewa Yojana. Since then, civic officials have been preparing estimates. Besides Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar, and Patiala were also selected under this scheme in Punjab. Earlier, the MC had demanded only mini-buses but now some big buses will also be given. The process was delayed due to Parliamentary elections in 2024 and certain objections were raised on the estimates. E-Bus Project Delays in Ludhiana Infrastructure Bottleneck: --The city lacks operational bus depots, which are essential for parking and charging the e-buses. --Two depots planned: Hambran Road and Ghora Colony. Tendering Issues: --Tenders floated in April failed due to technical disqualifications of participating firms. --Fresh tenders will be floated again. Cause, impact of delays --Estimate changes, technical issues, and 2024 Parliamentary elections contributed to the delay. --Electric buses are a cleaner alternative to diesel vehicles. Without them, Ludhiana continues to rely on polluting and aging fleets, worsening air quality and noise pollution. --Commuters are missing out on modern, efficient, and comfortable transport options. --The delay means no improvement in frequency, reliability, or coverage of public transport. --Without new buses, existing routes and vehicles remain overcrowded and poorly maintained
Time of India
14-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
City on short fuse over power cuts: BJP, SAD leaders
Ludhiana: With power cuts disrupting life in the city, leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) attacked the ruling party for failing to tackle the problem. They said that the entire city, including poll-bound west constituency, faced the problem of power cuts. In a few areas, the power cuts were 10 to 12 hours long, the leaders said, adding that the AAP government and Powercom had been exposed. Senior BJP leader and west constituency in-charge Avinash Rai Khanna held a press conference on the issue at the BJP election office in Khanna on Saturday. Addressing mediapersons, Khanna said, "Being in-charge of this constituency, I meet people daily, and they have serious problems due to power cuts." He added that residents of areas like Sarabha Nagar, Rajguru Nagar, Rishi Nagar, Sunet, and SBS Nagar, which fall under the west constituency, endure 10 to 12 hours of power cuts. In certain constituencies, there were 18-hour long power cuts as well, he said. Khanna questioned AAP candidate, Sanjeev Arora, saying, "The AAP candidate claims that he is like a second CM and any work can be done in the city on his direction but to date, he has never raised this issue and responded to people about government's failure to fulfill its promise of providing 24/7 electricity supply." He said that the Powercom department did not have adequate staff to check infrastructure-related complaints and even lines needed replacement. Elaborating on issues faced by the industry, Khanna said, "The industry was promised power supply at Rs 5 per unit, but they still are getting it at Rs 9 to Rs 10 per unit. Even then, there are power cuts for a long duration. Now, when there is no power supply, they are using generators and extra money is being spent on diesel. " Meanwhile, SAD candidate, Parupkar Singh Ghumman, also attacked the ruling party for creating problems due to power cuts. "I also live in the west constituency and I can feel the pain of people living here and in other areas. If the poll-bound west constituency is not getting uninterrupted power supply, what can be expected in other areas?" He said. Ghumman pointed out that regular power cuts had precipitated a water crisis as well as MC tubewells would not work. He said that during a meeting with residents at Professor Colony, he found that people at the end of their tether because of the power cuts that they staged a protest at night. MSID:: 121848140 413 | Follow more information on Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad here . Get real-time live updates on rescue operations and check full list of passengers onboard AI 171 .
Time of India
04-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Dug up over 3 years ago, upscale Green Field still does not have internal roads
1 2 Ludhiana: Despite the surge in political interest in the poll-bound West constituency, residents of Green Field have been struggling in the absence of internal roads for over three years. A commute in the area is an ordeal of dust and twisting pathways. Ironically, Green Field is considered one of the upscale areas of the city. Roads were dug up to lay water supply and sewer lines here about 3.5 years ago. It took over two years for authorities to complete work on water supply and sewer line in the area. On Thursday, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) candidate, Parupkar Singh Ghumman , visited the area and met residents, who told him about the ordeal they were going through because of the uneven road. They complained that they could not let children play outside due to the risk of injury. Former councillor Mamta Ashu, who has been raising the issue, said, "People complain about poor condition of streets to the area councillor but they do not get a reply. People are harassed by such attitude of officials as well as elected representatives." MC executive engineer, Arvind Kumar, said, "When I went to the area, I found that half of the street had been constructed and work on the other half, which was left, was not included in the initial estimate of road work." Later, the MC decided to get road work done in the entire area. Kumar said that the tender had been extended and work had been allocated. He added that the contractor had started constructing road gulleys for water drainage, which would be ready soon. Road work starts in Mahavir Enclave After the area councillor flagged the poor condition of roads, the MC started road construction work in Mahavir Enclave on Thursday. Work had been pending since 2024. According to councillor Sonam Pankaj Kaka, MLA, late Gurpreet Gogi, got the work approved, but after his sudden demise, officials forgot about it. The councillor voiced suspicion of the contractor taking the work at 37% less than the actual cost and said that this could result in use of poor quality material in road construction as well as early breakage of roads. On Thursday, Rajya Sabha member Sanjeev Arora visited the area for inauguration of road work to be done for Rs 1.15 crore. He assured residents that there would be a third-party audit of the work, and they would ensure construction of a good quality road.
