The chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has directed the Transport department to commence the operation of buses from the main areas of the State like Dehradun, Haridwar and Haldwani to Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya. He stated this during the review meeting with the officials of the department at the secretariat on Friday. He directed the officials to arrange for new vehicles to operate in mountainous areas rather than the old ones considering public safety. Dhami asked them to pay special attention to fitness testing of vehicles as a measure to prevent accidents while ensuring proper arrangements for training and medical treatment of drivers. The officials concerned must also focus on keeping the bus stations clean and equipped with modern amenities. The department should also install crash barriers in accident prone areas of the State and ensure plantation of trees along the roads, said CM. He also directed them to publicise important government schemes through Roadways buses. The officials concerned also informed the CM about the department’s work progress. They informed that the condition of Uttarakhand Transport Corporation (UTC) has consistently improved in the last two financial years. In the financial year 2022-23, UTC made a profit of Rs 29.06 crore and in the current financial year so far, it has made a profit of Rs 27 crore. The officials said that the department has also witnessed continuous growth in its revenue in the past two financial years. There was an increase of 20.86 per cent in the revenue in 2021-22 which increased to 34.52 per cent in 2022-23. Though there are still three months to this financial year, the department has witnessed an increase of 11.20 per cent in revenue compared to last year. The officials also added that the department has increased enforcement actions while improving online facilities. The department has installed ANPR cameras at 10 main locations in the State and more are being installed at 17 locations to strengthen enforcement operations. Besides this, the department has also released funds for the construction of vehicle testing centres in Uttarkashi and Pithoragarh. Also, vehicle location tracking devices (VLTD) have been installed in 66,811 vehicles in the State so far. Out of 66,811 vehicles, VLTD was installed in 35,515 vehicles in 2023. The officials also informed that the department has set up automated driving test tracks in Dehradun, Rishikesh, Haridwar and Kotdwar and is now preparing to set up these in Kashipur, Almora, Uttarkashi, Pithoragarh, Roorkee, Haldwani and Ramnagar.