Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar inaugurates Electric City Bus Service in Panipat

Tribune News Service

Mukesh Tandon

Panipat, January 28

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar today inaugurated the Electric City Bus Service from the new bus stand at Sewah here. While addressing the gathering at the bus stand, the Chief Minister said the electric bus service would prove convenient for the passengers of urban and rural areas. People preferred roadways buses to travel and around 11 lakh passengers travel around 11 lakh kilometres daily, he said. Currently, 4,651 buses, including 562 buses under the Kilometre Scheme and 1,300 permit buses are operating in the state.

The electric bus service will be a milestone for pollution-free and easy transportation, the Chief Minister said. The CM announced that first seven days of travelling in these electric buses would be free, encouraging people to opt for public transportation over private vehicles. The routes of the city bus service would be planned carefully, after considering the demands and needs of the city residents.

At present, three electric buses have been introduced in Panipat and soon five more buses will be added to the fleet, he said.

The fare for the city bus service will range from Rs 10 to Rs 50, and the route will cover a distance of 28 to 30 km. The City Electric Bus Service will be systematically expanded to the villages surrounding the city, the Chief Minister said after the inauguration.

The Chief Minister also travelled in a bus. He was accompanied by Rajya Sabha MP Krishan Lal Panwar, MP Sanjay Bhatia, Panipat City MLA Pramod Vij and Principal Secretary, Transport Department, Navdeep Virk. He said 450 electric buses would be started in the state.

The Chief Minister said after the launch of the service in Panipat and Jagadhri, the government aims to start the service in seven other cities — Panchkula, Ambala, Sonepat, Rewari, Karnal, Rohtak and Hisar — by June.

In this series, the existing city bus services in Gurugram, Manesar and Faridabad would be expanded. This unique project, initiated by any state in the country, involves 450 modern, environment-friendly electric buses, and the project, costing over Rs 2,450 crore over 12 years, was a significant step towards a pollution-free environment, he said.

The Chief Minister said approval had been granted by the Central government for the construction of an expressway to enhance connectivity from Panipat to Dabwali in the east-west direction.

A rapid rail transport system (RRTS), similar to the Metro, would be initiated from Delhi Sarai Kale Khan to Panipat, with efforts to expand it up to Karnal. Alongside the Kundli-Manesar Expressway, Haryana is also launching the Haryana Orbital Rail Service (HORS), enhancing connectivity from Kundli to Panipat. This development aims to provide better transportation facilities for the people, he said.

Rs 110 cr to be spent on new bus stands

• Navdeep Virk, Principal Secretary, Transport Department, said a separate department had been set up for the operation of electric buses
• New bus stands for electric buses would be built at a three-acre plot in each of the seven cities, with a total cost of Rs 110 crore
• An order for 375 buses (12-metre each) has been placed. Mini buses will also be introduced

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