The Hindu       04.12.2014 

545 JNNURM buses to hit the road by March-end

Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy assessing the progress of work at the JNNURM Bus Depot site in Udupi on Wednesday.

Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy said on Wednesday
that 545 city buses under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal
Mission (JNNURM) would be introduced in many towns of the State by the
end of March 2015.

Speaking to reporters after
inspecting the KSRTC Bus Deport and construction of JNNURM Bus Depot
here, Mr. Reddy said these included 30 city buses each under JNNURM for
Udupi and Bhadravati, 35 each for Mangaluru, Bhadravati and Hassan, 50
each for Ramanagaram and Davangere, 65 for Shivamogga, 25 each for Kolar
and Kolar Gold Fields, 45 additional buses for Tumakuru, and 125
additional buses for Mysuru.

To another question, he
said Rs. 6 crore had been sanctioned for the construction of JNNURM Bus
Depot here. The work was expected to be completed by March 2015. Once
the depot was ready, city buses under JNNURM would be started here.

Already
40 cents of land belonging to the Department of Public Instruction had
been identified for a bus-stand for the JNURUM city buses near the City
Bus-stand. Though the department had released Rs. 1.45 crore for the
construction of a building on this land, it would be shifted to the
Board High School here to make way for the JNNURM Bus-stand.

The
KSRTC Bus-stand for Udupi would be constructed on 2 acres and 94 cents
of land at Bannanje here. This land belonged to the Public Works
Department. Talks were on with the Public Works Department to get the
land transferred to the Transport Department. New KSRTC bus-stands would
be constructed in all those towns which did not have them in the next
two years. The aim was to provide better facilities for passengers.

On
two private buses catching fire in the last two days, he said the
Transport Department had issued 12 guidelines for the safety of all
buses. But in these two cases, the reason for the fire was accident, Mr.
Reddy said.

Pramod Madhwaraj, MLA, and P. Yuvaraj, president of the Udupi City Municipal Council, were present.