Calcutta, March 5: Faced with recurring losses, the fund-starved Calcutta State Transport Corporation has decided to wind up some of its long-distance routes before Durga Puja.

?Although some of the non-viable routes are being discontinued due to spiralling losses, those catering to passengers in remote areas are being upgraded,? CSTC managing director Ashoke Bhattacharya said today.

At present, the CSTC plies over 240 buses on long-distance routes in addition to 450 within the city.

Bhattacharya said officials are identifying the loss-making routes. For instance, the CSTC could easily do away with Calcutta-Siliguri buses, he added.

But ?in no way can we withdraw services to Basanti in the riverine Sundarbans because our buses happen to be the only mode of transport for its residents. In fact, we shall introduce more buses on such routes,? Bhattacharya said.

According to CSTC officials, a large fleet of private buses has rendered over 100 long-distance routes, particularly to the five districts of north Bengal, non-viable.

?We may have to wind up 12 buses on the Siliguri-Calcutta route next month since they have been plying almost empty due to non-availability of passengers,? said an official.

The CSTC is also launching a drive against ticketless travellers from Monday. A special squad comprising officials and conductors will be on board buses to identify and punish offenders.

?A current study reveals that the CSTC can profit if all those travelling in buses purchase tickets. For that, our conductors and ticket collectors have to be more alert,? Bhattacharya said.

At present, the CSTC collects Rs 18 lakh a day as revenue. ?But we have decided to increase it to Rs 25 lakh a day before the pujas. This will fetch us a total revenue of Rs 7.5 crore per annum as against the Rs 4.18 crore being collected at the moment,? he added.

To meet the target, the CSTC plans to sell tickets to passengers before they board buses.