Tejas Navale

Pune: Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Ltd. (PMPML), the lifeline of Pune's public transport, has earned huge revenue in the recent Lok Sabha elections. According to the information, PMPML has earned around 1.57 crore for transporting ballot boxes of the Election Commission of India to assembly constituencies, which primarily fall under the PMC's jurisdiction.

In every Lok Sabha, Vidhan Sabha, and municipal election, PMPML provides its buses to electoral staff to transport ballot boxes in the constituencies. For that, the election planning officer has to inform the PMPML in advance about their requirement for buses. This year, PMPML provided 931 buses for this activity.

The Pune district encompasses four Lok Sabha seats, such as Pune, Baramati, Maval, and Shirur. This year, voting for Lok Sabha seats for Pune districts took place in two phases. On May 7, voting for the Baramati Lok Sabha seat took place, whereas on May 13, voting for the remaining Lok Sabha seats such as Pune, Maval, and Shirur took place.

Accordingly, PMPML provided 931 buses to transport ballot boxes in four Lok Sabha constituencies of Pune district this year. In this, 113 buses were provided for Khadakwasla Assembly Constituency, which primarily comes under Baramati Lok Sabha Constituency. Whereas, 175 buses were provided for Chinchwad and Pimpri assembly constituencies falling under Maval Lok Sabha constituencies.

Bhosari and Hadapsar assemblies come under the Shirur Lok Sabha constituency, for which the PMPMP supplied 140 buses. While a maximum of 503 buses were given to Pune Lok Sabha Constituency, from this, PMPML has earned an income of around one and a half crores. Therefore, it is said that the PMPML, which has been in constant losses, has earned good revenue in this Lok Sabha election.

Despite PMPML's advantage in the Lok Sabha elections, the issue of frequent breakdowns persists. In recent days, reports indicate that around 3,500 buses have broken down. PMPML has a fleet of 1,948 buses, with 1,400 to 1,500 buses operating on routes daily. According to reports, approximately 50 buses are reported to break down each day, causing significant inconvenience to the people of Pune. Between April 8 and April 14 alone, 349 buses experienced breakdowns.