22 April,2012 07:57 AM IST | | Saurabh Katkurwar
For the first time in the last few years, the Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport (NMMT) made a surplus profit of Rs 45 lakh over the last month. The body has two autorickshaw strikes and the recent breakdown of the local trains due to the fire in the signalling system near Vidyavihar station to thank for the money it made, since commuters had no option but to use its services.
However, NMMT could have made a larger profit had it plied all its buses, which it couldn't, since most of the CNG buses in its fleet break down regularly.
A file picture of a Navi Mumbai CNG bus
NMMT has reportedly been incurring losses since the time it began operations in 1996. The body, however, earned an approximate surplus of Rs 7 lakh on each day of the strike and the railway breakdown.
Hanumant Dalvi, chairman, NMMT, said, "We have earned around Rs 45 lakh more than our average monthly earnings in the last 30 days due to the auto strikes and the local train breakdown. Generally, the daily profit of NMMT is betweenu00a0Rs 23 to Rs 25 lakh, out of which Rs 2-3 lakh is deducted to meet daily expenses. However, during the breakdowns, we earned over Rs 32 lakh per day, which has added the additional Rs 45 lakh to our profit. This has happened for the first time in many years."
If all the NMMT buses had come out onto the roads, the body would have earned larger profits during the strike and even on regular days.
"We face problems because many CNG buses break down every day. If all our buses were functional, we could have earned more than Rs 45 lakh during the strike days. Also, we can earn over Rs 28 lakh everyday and make regular profits if the breakdowns could be avoided somehow," said Dalavi.
The NMMT has 384 buses in its fleet. However, around 50 buses are not on the roads because their repairs are not economically feasible for the body. The NMMT runs around 330 buses, of which 60 to 90 buses break down every day. The breakdowns adversely hit services, as many bus services on various routes are cancelled daily.u00a0
