In a mega boost to West Bengal’s bus transport sector, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president Samik Bhattacharya on Wednesday, said that the government will tie up with the private sector to improve surface transport across the state.
Bhattacharya, who attended the inauguration of a fleet of long-distance buses linking Kolkata with Delhi, Chennai and other major cities, alleged that the previous Trinamool Congress (TMC) government had crippled the state’s public transport system.
In a sharp attack at the previous TMC dispensation, Bhattacharya said, “In the last 15 years the West Bengal State Transport Corporation had been pushed to the brink of extinction. State buses have disappeared. The bus depots across the state including in North Bengal are filled with idle vehicles, many without valid documents like insurance.”.
Bhattacharya assured that entrepreneurs investing in the transport sector would receive full government support.
“Our (BJP) government has not even completed two months in office. Give us one year and we will bring speed, modernity and efficiency to Bengal’s transport system. The government is not in the business of running buses. Its responsibility is to build infrastructure, create a level playing field and encourage private investment,” he said at the launch event held in Salt Lake’s Karunamoyee Bus Terminus in Kolkata.
The launch marked the introduction of Shyamoli Paribahan’s bio-toilet-equipped Volvo 9600 SLX B8R Euro 6 sleeper service between Kolkata and Delhi, a premium coach fitted with Wi-Fi, live tracking and onboard entertainment.
The bus will operate via Burdwan, Durgapur, Asansol, Dhanbad and Varanasi, departing from Karunamoyee Bus Terminus at 9 am, with the return journey from Delhi at 1 pm.
Urging transport operators to expand beyond Bengal, he said that buses should connect destinations across the country.
“West Bengal’s buses should run in Delhi, Karnataka, Kerala, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. They should connect Varanasi with Lucknow and carry Bengal’s presence across India. BJP governments across the country will stand beside you,” he said.
Noting the large numbers of patients travelling to Chennai for health treatment, Bhattacharya said, “The fares have been kept lower for the bus that will go to Chennai as many patients in Bengal have lost faith in the healthcare system of our state and head to South India for treatment. We want to change this as well.and make Bengal a leading state in terms of medical facilities.”
Transport and Labour Minister Arjun Singh who flagged off the fleet of buses described the launch as a milestone for Bengal’s transport sector and assured private operators of the government’s full backing.
He said services from Kolkata to Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru and Puri would improve inter-state connectivity, while operational issues affecting routes to Sikkim from West Bengal had already been resolved.