Following verification, city to get 100 bus drivers

GURGAON: The induction process of around 100 drivers hired for Gurgaon buses is in its final phase. At present, several work managers of Haryana roadways are visiting the district transport offices of various states to verify the licenses of candidates to ensure that they are genuine.
This is being done as a precautionary measure as last year a few drivers from Bihar and Assam were nabbed with counterfeit licenses.Officials said that against the posts of 1875 drivers in the state, around 2800 candidates have cleared the exam. The exams were conducted by the Subordinate Service Selection Board. There are 20 bus depots in the entire state.
Officials added that Gurgaon is expected to get around 100 drivers soon. An equal number of conductors will also report to work with the drivers. There is a shortage of at least 40 bus drivers and roadways officials feel that the arrival of the new lot would help to fill the gap and also increase bus frequencies.
Yashendra Singh, general manager, Haryana Roadways, Gurgaon, said, “License verification is being done from this year to avoid trouble later. Last year, three drivers from other states were found to be carrying fake licenses. Work managers are touring Muzzafarpur in Bihar and other places from where our candidates have arrived.”“There are around 10 candidates from other states. Once this process is over, the selected drivers will report for duty,” he added.
At present, due to a staff crunch there is a lot of pressure on the present lot of drivers. There are 263 bus drivers working at the Gurgaon bus depot on its fleet of 200 buses, that include 10 air conditioned ones. These drivers usually work for 16 hours a day on an average. Moreover, in many cases they are also forced to do overtime, said sources.