Bus service to LWE-hit Odisha dists from New Year’s Eve

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Dec 29:

Odisha State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC) would launch 30 more buses on New Year’s Eve in left wing extremism (LWE) affected areas in the state under the Biju Gaon Gadi Yojana (BGGY) aimed at improving road connectivity.

As many as 30 buses would be introduced in four Maoist-infested districts in the state on December 31. The bus service would be flagged off by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, OSRTC CMD Sanjeev Marik said today.

“Thirty buses would ply on 28 routes in Sundargarh, Deogarh, Nuapada and Gajapati, Sundargarh districts,” Marik added.

The bus service under Biju Gaon Gadi Yojana is aimed at providing transport facility to remote areas in tribal and backward areas of the state. The state government has earmarked Rs 21 crore for this purpose to launch 100 buses during 2015-16 fiscal.

Notably, the state government had launched 57 buses earlier and the number would go up to 87 with addition of 30 more buses on Thursday. The remaining 13 would be launched in subsequent phases.

As per sources, the government had decided to launch 33 buses on these identified routes on Thursday. However, it would ply 30 buses for the time being as it hasn’t procured the targeted numbers. The rest three buses would be added to the fleet soon after procurement.

Earlier, 40-seater buses have been introduced in Rayagada, Jeypore, Nabarangpur, Malkangiri, Kandhamal, Brahmapur, Koraput, Ganjam and Kandhamal districts under the scheme.