Pune: About 900 employees of the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) sent on deputation to the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) will be carrying out a door-to-door survey as a part of the prevention measures of the COVID-19 containment strategy. These employees will be accompanied by Asha workers and PMC staff.
Earlier, about 700 teachers were engaged in this survey work. They have been relieved of this 'corona duty' as the PMC has decided to start online education for PMC school students also. So after around three months of survey work, the municipal school teachers will be disengaged from the survey work.
PMPML has a total of 1,800 buses in its fleet and employs nearly 10 thousand employees.
Out of the total staff, PMPML has sent its 3,000 employees on deputation to the PMC as the bus service in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad cities has been shut since March. Only a limited number of buses are operating for the purpose of ferrying employees engaged in the essential and medical services during the lockdown in the city.
Since the administration has decided to impose another lockdown in the city from Tuesday (July 14), the survey work will be expedited. PMPML employees engaged in this work will be assigned areas to be surveyed near their homes so as to minimise the need to travel during the lockdown. PMPML workers along with health department staff, Asha workers and other employees will finish the work in a stipulated time period.
PMPML has come under financial stress during the lockdown and has suffered losses of more than Rs 150 crore so far. Recently it has decided to terminate the service of 1,060 buses-on-contract using the Force Majeure clause. PMPML has also decided to allow the use of its fleet for goods transport. The PMP buses will also be allowed to be used for transporting employees of private companies. These decisions were taken to recover the losses PMP has suffered due to restrictions on its operations during the lockdown.
Edited by:
Khevna Pandit
