Project of hop-on-hop-off bus service in Kurukshetra put on back burner

Nitish Sharma

Tribune News Service

Kurukshetra, December 2

The ambitious hop-on-hop-off tourist bus service project, which was prepared on the directions of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, seems to have been put on the back burner. The Kurukshetra Development Board (KDB) and the district administration, in August, had come out with a proposal of starting the bus service for tourists and devotees who visit the holy city.

The board had planned to introduce four to five buses with automated guide system in English and Hindi languages, LED screens and literature so that tourists could be informed about the sites. It had also planned to issue subsidised passes to devotees and ply the buses on a 27-km-long route covering all sites, including Brahma Sarovar, Sannihit Sarovar, Srikrishna Museum, Gurdwara Chhevin Patshahi, Tirupati Balaji temple, Mahabharata war formation, Jyotisar, Buddha Stupa, Harsh ka Tila, Panorama Museum, Kalpana Chawla Planetarium and other major spots from 8 am to 8 pm.

Sources in the KDB said, “The project was sent to the state government for final approval, for which an early approval was expected as the project was prepared on the CM’s directions, but there has been no further development so far and it seems the project has been put on the back burner. Even in 2017, a special tourist bus service was started in Kurukshetra by the CM, but it was stopped within a year.”

Madan Mohan Chhabra, honorary secretary of the board, said, “Efforts are on to promote tourism in Kurukshetra for which different plans are being chalked out. A proposal regarding the hop-on-hop-off bus service has been sent and is with the government. Due to the pandemic, the number of tourists is low and we are expecting that the government will give an approval to the project soon.”