Sri Vijaya Puram, Aug. 14: State Transport Unit Ferrargunj is the second largest STS Unit of Transport Department after Sri Vijaya Puram in the UT and caters to the need of commuters in 19 Panchayats under Ferrargunj Tehsil. Functioning of the STS Office in Ferrargunj was being done from an old two room office after the dismantling of previous old office building which resulted in inconvenience to the employees and general public visiting the office. Accordingly, the work of construction of Office Building was included in the Action Plan of Transport Department and APWD completed the construction work.
The newly constructed office building for STS Unit Ferrargunj was inaugurated by Ms. Chanchal Yadav,IAS, Commissioner-cum-Secretary (Transport) today in the presence of Ms. Jyoti Kumari, IAS, Secretary (Transport) and Dr. Jatinder Sohal, Director of Transport in a simple function which was attended by the PRIs as well as general public of the area in good numbers.
In her address, the Commissioner-cum-Secretary (Transport) commended the Department for delivering a high-quality, well-designed facility that meets public needs. She underlined that public transport is more than a means of reaching destinations, it fosters social connections and community growth. She also expressed confidence in the Department’s vision for fleet expansion, improved services, new routes, and manpower augmentation, urging that services should always match the real needs of the people. She further noted that the new building could serve multiple community purposes when required.
The Secretary (Transport), in her remarks, provided an overview of the Department’s initiatives, highlighting the lifeline role played by State Transport Services in connecting far-flung areas of the Islands. She mentioned the Department’s recent measures to address the shortage of buses and manpower, including the purchase of new buses and the hiring of additional staff. She noted that in the last month alone, the Ferrargunj Unit operated 95,233 km and served 97,238 passengers. A notable milestone was the launch of a new bus service linking North Bay with Bambooflat by road for the first time.
Earlier, the Director (Transport) while welcoming the dignitaries and others informed that this new office building will play an important role in extending the public transport service which has all the amenities for the employees as well as visiting public. He further informed the gathering that whenever any requirement of general public is received through the PRIs for the bus services, all efforts are taken by the Department pro-actively to redress their grievances and appreciated the efforts of PRIs to make the services of Transport Department more efficient.
The program concluded with vote of thanks proposed by Deputy Director, Transport Department.