03/08/2025
Ajit Singh appointed as Chairman, Jammu and Kashmir Transporters- Welfare Association (JKTWA),amid Mounting Crisis in J&K Transport Sector
The Jammu & Kashmir Transporters Welfare Association (Regd.) convened a press conference to address the growing and urgent challenges faced by transporters in the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir.
"The association which is the amalgamation
various prominent independent transporters, unions, associations cited that over the past several months,the transport sector in J&K has witnessed a deepening crisis due to a combination of factors including rising operational costs, lack of elected government support,
inadequate infrastructure, pending payments,
and policy neglect" in an
introductory brief by Sh. PankulVaid, General Secretary of association.
He alleged that the " transporters form the backbone of J&K's economic and logistical framework, connecting remote regions, enabling commerce, and sustaining livelihoods across the region. However, without immediate intervention and constructive dialogue, the sector faces the risk of long-term collapse and has now reached a breaking point."
Among the various issues, the key issue addressed were Backlisting of vehicles, whereunder almost 28000 vehicles comprising of both private vehicles such as motorcycles, scooters, cars etc as well as commercial vehicles were being blacklisted in the last few months. They alleged that the Government has been recklessly following the bad habit of clicking the pictures of vehicles from behind, without informing/educating the driver about their offènce, as a result the number of challans per vehicles are increasing day by day.
The association further apprised that the elected Government has saturated all the existing passenger routes with their vehicles, so that no private operator can ply vehicle and earn livelihood. Furthermore, they alleged that the political dispensation has made free seats for ladies passenger travelling in their buses without setting any economic criteria for ladies especially Govt. Service females who are earning 1-1.5 lacs per month. " Whereas, the govt should have made free seats for senior citizens, BPL, PwD in this vast territory of J&K" as said by Sh. Davinder Choudhary, the President of association.
He further emphasized that the "Government is deliberately trying to harass the bus operators who are plying their vehicles from General Bus Stand, Jammu as the Pulley on the Out gate of bus stand is damaged and there are traffic jams due to this, as a result the passengers avoid entering Bus stand". He further raised the burning issue of outside vehicles mainly tempos registered with PB, HR, HP, UP, RJ registration are operating as daily passenger services from the vicinity of general bus stand and are causing loss to existing local bus operators.
The association reiterated the demand of various business and traders associations of Jammu that "inter-state buses coming from outside in jammu should deboard the passengers in the Jammu general bus stand before 09:30 A.M, so that such trading community can further board local passenger services from Jammu bus stand for their onward journey to various districts."
The president further requested the Govt. authorities that the Vande Bharat Train should ply from Katra to Srinagar and vice-versa, so that the Jammu bus, taxi operators should have the opportunity to ply the passengers from Jammu-katra and earn a decent livelihood.
He concluded the conference with the vote of thanks that "despite Pahalgam attack and war crisis, the Amarnath Yatra was successfully concluded with almost similar number of Yatris visited J&K, which in turn revived the transport sector of J&K and saved it from devastation, purely due to efforts of our Prime Minister, Home Minister and Lieutenant Governor sahib"
Further, the chief patron of association, Sh. Mohinder Singh on behalf of whole transport community appealed to the Lieutenant Governor's administration, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, and local elected Govt. to take urgent and sincere steps to address this crisis. A just, fair, and welfare-oriented transport policy for J&K is the need of the hour.
He announced that a unanimous decision has been taken by all the prominent transporters, unions, associations that S.Ajit Singh must take over the leadership command of the ailing J&K transport sector as the Chairman, JKTWA and shall make sincere efforts to bring transport out of the crisis situation.
