Puri: The Transport department has made special arrangements for senior citizens and differently-abled persons to provide them a hassle-free visit to the Holy City during this year’s Rath Yatra.
The Transport department would deploy at least 25 e-rickshaws to ferry senior citizens and differently-abled persons from a temporary bus stand at Talabania in the city here to the Grand Road during the mega event.
This was revealed by Transport Commissioner Anil Kumar Samal at a special review meeting for Rath Yatra here, Friday. According to Samal, the Transport department would arrange additional 200 buses to carry devotees from various places to the Holy City on the occasion of Rath Yatra.
“A temporary bus stand would be set up at Talabania. It would have drinking water facility, sheds and a control room. We have already provided 650 first-aid kits to buses,” Samal informed the meeting.
The Transport Commissioner claimed that they have asked the owners of buses and auto-rickshaws to paste rate charts on their vehicles. “We will also put rate charts at some strategic places to save devotees from being fleeced by bus and auto-rickshaw operators. At least eight cranes would be kept ready in Puri to deal with possible road accidents. Four interceptors would be deployed to check rash driving,” Samal informed the meeting.
This apart, the railway authorities would run 194 special trains to Puri from various locations for Rath Yatra. They have launched a special mobile app to disseminate information on train timings to devotees. “The cyclonic storm had damaged Puri railway station completely. The repair work would be completed by June 30,” said a railway official.
Officials of Public Health Engineering Organisation (PHEO) said they would deploy 32 tankers in Puri to supply drinking water to devotees. This apart, at least 250 temporary drinking water stand posts would be set up in the city. “Altogether 26 generators would be kept ready at various drinking water projects to ensure uninterrupted water supply during the festival,” said an official of PHEO.
The Electricity department would arrange generator sets to illuminate various parts of the city, the Grand Road and the three chariots.