Suspension of Two Junga–Sadhupul HRTC Buses Sparks Villagers’ Anger

Thousands of residents in the area are facing significant inconvenience due to the closure of two Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) bus services on the Shimla-Junga Sadhupul route. The closure has severely affected the movement of farmers, students, patients, and daily commuters.
Junga Panchayat head Ramlal, deputy head Ishwar Dutt, Durga Singh Thakur (Kheel Kajewada), ward members Yogmaya Sharma, Manoj Kumar, Kamal Sharma, Pankaj Sen, and other villagers said that a Shimla Unit-2 bus, which used to operate daily on the Junga-Sadhupul route during the day, has been out of service for the past six months. Another bus service, which used to operate on this route during the evening, was also discontinued about a week ago.
Villagers say that the closure of bus services is causing the most trouble to farmers, who are facing difficulties in transporting their vegetables and other agricultural produce to the markets on time. Furthermore, patients are facing significant difficulties in traveling to Junga and Shimla for treatment.
He said that the closure of buses on this route has increased the difficulties faced by school students. Many children have to walk 7 to 10 kilometers daily to reach Junga, which consumes a significant amount of time and disrupts their studies.
The villagers have demanded from the HRTC management and the state government that keeping in mind the public interest, both the bus services should be restored soon, so that the people of the area can get relief.
Meanwhile, the regional manager of HRTC Unit-2, Shimla, stated that the evening bus service on the Junga-Sadhupul route has been temporarily suspended due to a lack of available tires. He added that the service will resume as soon as new tires are available. The daytime bus service, however, has been discontinued due to persistent losses.