COMMUNICATIONS

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

State Transport.

Nationalisation of passenger transport services in Sangli district dates back to March 1949. In 1947, the State Government decided to nationalise the passenger transport, and as an initial step, the services were started departmentally in June 1948. Administration of the same was subsequently handed over to a statutory public corporation in December 1949, under the provisions of the Bombay State Road Transport Corporation Act, 1948.

Before the nationalisation, there were number of private bus owners who were permitted to ply the buses on some particular routes. But their operations and services were far from satisfactory.

The Government, therefore, considered the idea of nationalisation of public transport. Moreover, as it was an indispensable public utility, the Government thought it as its duty to nationalise it and serve the people in the best possible manner. Hence, the then Government of Bombay decided in favour of nationalisation of road transport.

For administrative convenience, Sangli district has been included in the Kolhapur division of the State Transport Corporation. Under the nationalised setup, the state of affairs has considerably improved. Buses are now well maintained and looked after in the various workshops in the district. A number of new routes have been introduced. In introducing these new routes the Corporation takes into consideration various factors such as alternative transport services on that route, its economic importance, availability of goods traffic, etc. Almost on every motorable road the State Transport buses ply. In Sangli district, the network of the bus routes is remarkable. All the important towns, taluka places, market places, villages of some historical or religious importance or those popular for any fair or bazar are linked either with one another or with any important town in the district. Various amenities are provided to passengers at a number of bus depots and bus stands in the district.

The State Transport operations in the district are maintained through five depots situated at Tasgaon, Sangli, lslampur, Vita and Jath. These five depots together run buses on 113 routes which make 595 single trips per day. In addition, the depot at Sangli runs a Sangli-Miraj city bus service. Special buses also run on bazar days from important towns like Sangli, Miraj and lslampur. Special parcel booking and delivery services have also been arranged by the Corporation at 18 important places in the district.

Depots and Garages.

The workshop side of the division is looked after by the Divisional Mechanical Engineer with the assistance of a Divisional Works Superintendent and an Assistant Works Superintendent. Besides, there are as many depot managers as there are depots who are fully responsible for the working of the depots. The Corporation maintains depots and garages to which are attached workshops for the proper maintenance of vehicles. The major repair works are done in the divisional workshop. Under strict regulation, after the operation of every 19,311.60 km. (12,000 miles), vehicles are sent to the divisional workshop for thorough inspection. Proper care is taken in passing out the vehicles for further plying. There are depots with attached workshops at Sangli, Vita, Tasgaon, lslampur and Jath in the district. The Sangli depot, working since 1951, is one of the oldest depots in the division. The following statement shows the unit wise traffic statistics in Sangli district during 1963.64.

Proper attention is paid by the State Transport Corporation to the provision of amenities to the travelling public. Various schemes providing passenger amenities are being implemented.

Amenities.

A permanent, solid structure with all the necessary requisites of a composite and good bus terminus station has been completed at Sangli, the district headquarters. Bus stands with amenities such as refreshment room, books and newspaper stall, pan-bidi shop, etc., are also provided at Islampur, Tasgaon, Jath, Kasegaon, Khanapur, Kadepur, Mahuli, Vita, etc. First-aid is provided at all the depots and stations.

Fare.

The schedule of passenger fare is based on stages, 20 paise being the fare for a stage of 6.44 km. (four miles) and 10 paise for a sub-stage of 3.22 km. (two miles). The minimum average fare is 20 paise. [ It has been changed subsequently.] The schedule of fares is uniform throughout the State.

Labour Welfare.

The State Transport Corporation looks after the welfare of the employees and is very particular about the labour-management relation. It provides housing accommodation to the staff. Sports are encouraged and funds for this purpose are allotted to all units of the division, tournaments are arranged and prizes are distributed to the winners. The workers are encouraged to take part in these tournaments which are held on zonal and inter-zonal basis.

A dispensary is run at the headquarters of the division to provide medical facilities to the workers and their families.

A quarterly bulletin in the regional language is published and issued free to the employees of the State Transport Corporation. It covers many such topics 'as workers activities, corporation's working, etc. Reading rooms are provided at each depot where newspapers are made available for the benefit of the employees. Practically all the employees are the members of the State Transport Co-operative Bank Ltd., Bombay.

A State Transport Employees Union, is functioning in the Division.

The statistics about the State Transport bus routes are given in the following statement: —

Bus routes.

The Directory of Village and Towns given at the end of the Volume gives the nearest bus-stand and the nearest railway station to each. village and town in the district.

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