Haryana minister Anil Vij pulls up officials during surprise check at Ambala Cantt bus stand

Ambala: Haryana Transport Minister Anil Vij on Monday conducted a surprise inspection at the Ambala Cantt bus stand and pulled up the officials over several shortcomings in passenger facilities.

During his visit, Vij issued direction to suspend bus stand in-charge Ajit Singh besides reprimanding the general manager of Haryana Roadways for the discrepancies found, an official statement said.

Conducting the inspection a day after being allocated the transport portfolio on Sunday, Vij said the irregularities at the Ambala Cantt bus stand will be investigated by a senior IAS officer while the tenders for shops and other related matters will also be reviewed.

The minister also directed the concerned officials to make arrangements for digital display of the arrival and departure timings of buses at the inquiry counter.

During the inspection, food stalls at the bus stand were found to be extending beyond their allotted spaces, prompting Vij to instruct the officials to take action in the matter.

He also directed the officials to collect food samples for testing and impound the goods stored outside the allotted areas.

Noticing the foul odour in the unclean toilets and the shortcomings in the drinking water area, Vij directed the suspension of bus stand in-charge Ajit Singh.

When the transport officials claimed that the sewage was blocked in the bus stand leading to the mess, Vij asked them why no action was taken to clean it up if the matter was already known.

Inquired about the torn signboards at the bus stand, the officials claimed they got damaged due to a storm.

Not impressed with the response, Vij questioned why they were not fixed yet.

Noticing that most buses were not parked at the counters marked for them, Vij said that drivers failing to park their buses at the designated areas will face action in the future.

He also directed the officials to take action against the drivers parking their buses outside the bus stand.

After the inspection, Vij left for Delhi on a bus. During the journey, he spoke to the driver and the passengers to understand their issues.

This was not the first time that Vij conducted surprise checks. When he held the health and home portfolios in the Manohar Lal Khattar-led government, Vij frequently conducted surprise checks at various offices across the state and took action wherever he found shortcomings.