Odisha Govt To Run Special Buses From Every Block To Puri During Rath Yatra
Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Government has decided to run special buses from every block of the state to Shreekshetra Puri during the Rath Yatra of Mahaprabhu Jagannath.
After a review meeting held with officials of Odisha State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC) on Monday, state Commerce and Transport Minister Bibhuti Bhushan Jena announced that govt-run bus service will be made available from 314 blocks to Jagannath Dham for hassle-free movement of devotees during Rath Yatra.
Also, the state transport minister said, “Bus services will be started from Odisha to the major pilgrimage sites of the country.” Government buses will ply to Shree Ram Janmbhoomi Ayodhya Dham, Tirupati, Mahakaleshwar, Varanasi and Vrindavan.
The minister said that buses will run from major cities such as Puri, Bhubaneswar, Brahmapur and Rourkela to these places of pilgrimage in different parts of the country.
The minister further said that more and more eco-friendly electric buses will run in the state. “It has been decided that the people of different parts of the state will get adequate bus services. “Initially, it has been decided to buy 100 buses,” said the minister.
PM-eBus Sewa has commenced and Odisha will also get the benefit. Therefore, according to the guidelines of the central government, buses older than 15 years will be given for scrapping and more electric buses will take their place in future.
On being asked about the fate of the LAccMI bus service introduced by the previous BJD government, the Minister of Commerce and Transport Department said, “What’s in a name… people should get the service”.
The Minister and officials discussed how OSRTC could play a significant role in the transport sector of the state. Principal Secretary, C&T Dept Usha Padhee, Transport Commissioner Amitabh Thakur and Chairman and Managing Director of OSRTC Diptesh Kumar Pattnayak, were present in this review meeting.
Minister of Commerce and Transport Bibhuti Bhushan expressed hopes that, in the coming days, OSRTC will set new milestones in the transport sector.
