Cuttack: With town bus service in Cuttack town being withdrawn in 2015, buses purchased spending crores of rupees are reportedly rusting away in the depot.
With a view to control the air pollution level in the city and provide a common transport system to commuters, Cuttack Municipal Corporation had bought two buses at a cost of Rs 18 lakhs in 2007.
These two buses branded as ‘Chandrika’ used to ply through OMP Square, Link Road, High Court, CDA Market, Biju Patnaik Park, Satichaura, Bidanasi, Buxi Bazar, Mangalabag, Ranihaat and College Square. Students as well as denizens were immensely benefitted from this town bus service. They would easily go from one end of the city to the other end.
This service has been stopped since 2015, putting the commuters particularly the students into a lot of difficulties.
According to CMC assistant engineer Shraban Mohanty, Chandrika bus service was put off the road after introduction of Capital Region Urban Transport (CRUT) bus services.
“Chandrika buses would get maximum passengers on Badambadi-Biju Patnaik Park route. With the CRUT bus service taking away the business of Chandrika buses; the latter could hardly recover its fuel cost. With no option left, the Chandrika bus service was withdrawn in 2015,” added Mohanty.
Similarly, as many as 30 buses were procured at a cost of Rs 8 crore under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) in 2015. The fund granted by the Centre and state governments was utilised for this.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had inaugurated this town bus service in April, 2016. Cuttack Urban Transport Service Limited (CUTSL) was formed to run the buses. The CMC Commissioner was its chief executive officer with RTO, District Collector, DCP as members.
Later, Sahara Roadways had been entrusted with the job of running the buses. An agreement was signed with Sahara Roadways. As per the agreement, Sahara Roadways would give Rs 2,60,000 for each bus, which accounts for ten per cent of the bus cost. That apart, it would give Rs 4,000 per bus every month towards rent.
In the first phase, only 10 buses of the 30 buses were plying due to registration issues. Later, these 10 buses were withdrawn due to routes being not available and private bus owners opposing it.
Thereafter, these 30 buses were handed over to CRUT in 2019. However, not a single of these 30 buses has ever been seen rolling on the road.
When contacted, CRUT general manager (administration) Deepti Mohaptra said the buses were in extremely bad condition when they were received from CMC. We have a plan to get the buses repaired and run 27 buses in nearby areas of Cuttack city. The rest three will be used in case of emergency. “But these buses can’t ply in the city as their length is as long as nine metres,” she added.
PNN