Chennai: Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Wednesday flagged off new buses.
According to a press release issued by transport department, the Chief Minister flagged off 471 new buses to be operated in the transport divisions of Villupuram, Salem, Coimbatore, Kumbakonam, Madurai and Tirunelveli, besides the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC), said an official release. The cost of the new buses is '126.70 crore, it noted.
Some of these were luxury buses are equipped with A/Cs and toilets and MTC received one bus. “OF 471 total buses, 60 State Express Transport Corporation (SETC) buses are equipped with facilities like sleeper class and toilets,” read the statement.
A senior MTC official said, “Since the MTC will receive 80 electric buses soon, we have received a single MTC bus, which will be operated from Broadway to Kelambakkam.”
Similarly, a state transport official said that officials from all the transport regions have been instructed to maintain such buses in a proper manner. “We will take stern actions against officials, who fail to monitor the buses whether they undergo maintenance works properly,” the official said, adding that they would receive more number of buses in a phased manner and replace age-old buses.
It may be noted that the Chief Minister had a few months ago, launched 515 mofussil buses. However, it was reported that such buses were not maintained properly.
