The Government today informed the House that the Jammu and Kashmir Road Transport Corporation (JKRTC) is currently operating bus services in Kathua district.
Responding to a question raised by Bharat Bhushan, Minister for RDD, Javed Ahmad Dar, while replying on behalf of Minister for Transport, Satish Sharma, stated that JKRTC is presently running two bus routes in the district including Jammu to Machedi Lohai and Jammu to Bani Lowang.
The Minister informed that all interstate buses being operated by the JKRTC travel through Kathua district during their up and down journeys. He also recalled that during the Covid-19 pandemic, bus service was suspended as per government SOPs with the entire JKRTC fleet engaged in ferrying Jammu based passengers from Lakhanpur to various districts of the Union Territory.
Javid Dar stated that over the time, the JKRTC fleet was identified for auction for being over aged and the process, in this regard, is currently underway. Despite these challenges, he assured that JKRTC with its limited fleet has been making every effort to meet transportation needs of the public across J&K and is actively exploring ways to resume additional bus services in the near future.
