JOIN USCentre unveils bus bonanza for Karnataka
The State Road Transport Corporations are working towards strengthening the public transport system in rural areas of the State. The Union government has sanctioned 2,104 buses to 30 districts in the State under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JnNURM).
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy said, “For the first time under JnNURM, the City transport will commence its operation under KSRTC limits in Kolar Gold Fields (KGF), Ramanagara, Chitradurga, Shimoga, Bhadravathi and Udupi. In North West, it is Sirsi, Bagalkot, Chikkodi, Haveri and Ranebennur. In North East, Raichur, Koppal, Sindhanur and Gangavathi.
More buses are sanctioned to the existing fleet. In KSRTC limits, the buses will run in Mysore, Davangere, Tumkur, Kolar, Hassan, Mangalore and Mandya. In North West Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC) region, it is Hubli, Dharwad, Belgaum and Karwar.
In North East Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NEKRTC) region, it is Gulbarga, Bijapur, Bidar, Bellary, Yadgir and Hospet. More buses will be added to BMTC limits in Bangalore, he added.
Along with the buses, there are several depots and workshops approved under JnNURM. In KSRTC limits, 13 depots at an estimated cost of Rs 52.75 crore have been sanctioned. In NWKRTC limits, one depot will come up at Rs six crore. In the NEKRTC, four depots at a cost of Rs 14.32 crore have been approved. In Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) limits, one workshop and five depots at Rs 20 crore have been approved.
He mentioned that due to the current crisis in Andhra Pradesh, KSRTC is suffering a loss of Rs 40 lakh per day as buses are not allowed to ply to Seemandhra region. Currently, 15 buses are plying to Hyderabad.
Reddy spoke about steps to set up fuel stations near bus depots which would make it convenient for the buses as well as the public. These fuel stations will be managed by Indian Oil Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum.
There is also a proposal to set up a call centre to address the grievances of passengers by next month. The BIG 10 bus will be shortly introduced on Kanakapura Road and gradually, this will be implemented in other parts of the City like Tumkur Road.
Initiatives will be taken to introduce mini buses in two to three months. These buses will make it easier to travel to extension areas where there are narrow roads and short turns.
The minister said they are also planning to get more non-AC bus by cancelling a few AC buses.
Around 810 buses are sanctioned for Bangalore, out of which 500 are non-AC buses, 250 are AC, 50 diesel articulated buses and 10 diesel electric hybrid buses. For Mysore, a total of 125 buses have been allotted: 93 non-AC, 20 AC, eight diesel articulated and four diesel electric hybrid buses.
In Bangalore limits, a workshop has been sanctioned at Challaghatta, depot at Madappanahalli, Huttanahalli, MS Palya, Kannur and Bairathi. In KSRTC limits, depots will come up in Mandya, Ramanagara, Davangere, Shimoga, Bhadravathi, Chitradurga, Hassan, Kolar, KGF, Mangalore, Udupi, Tumkur and Mysore.
In the limits of NWKRTC, a depot has been sanctioned for Belgaum. In NEKRTC, depots at Gulbarga, Raichur, Bellary and Bijapur have been sanctioned.