The Hindu : National : Private buses to ply on trans-LoC route

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Tuesday, Feb 26, 2008
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Private buses to ply on trans-LoC route

Staff Reporter

Poonch: For the first time in nearly six decades private buses would ply on the Poonch-Rawalakot route in the trans-Line of Control, thanks to a strike by Jammu and Kashmir State Road Transportation Corporation employees.

Ever since June 21, 2006 when the first Poonch-Rawalakot bus was flagged off, the Corporation had been plying buses for the civilians headed towards Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

The strike has given the opportunity to private bus operators to ply on the route. Poonch district authorities have already requisitioned buses from local operators.

Though it is a temporary decision, it has definitely set the clock of history back by nearly six decades. Prior to 1947, the Poonch-Rawalakot route was mostly managed by private bus operators.

Most of the civilian traffic passed through Rawalpindi city, now in Pakistan, hardly four hours’ drive from this place. Local residents have repeatedly urged the authorities to further soften the Line of Control so that the local economy gets a boost.

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