Orissa, Andhra Pradesh sign agreement for inter-state bus service

Bhubaneswar, Sep 11 (UNI) Orissa and Andhra Pradesh today signed an agreement to ply more buses on additional routes between the two states.

Orissa Commerce and Transport Minister Jayanarayan Mishra and Andhra Pradesh Transport Minister K Narayan signed the agreement at a function here.

As per the new agreement, while 38 more buses of Orissa would ply on nine additional routes covering a distance of 10,362 km, 72 more buses of Andhra Pradesh would run on 17 new routes covering a distance of 10,344 km.

The details of the routes would be finalised later.

Both states had signed an agreement in 1989 for plying of inter- state buses between the two states. Since then 80 buses of the state-owned Orissa State Road Transport Corporation on 42 routes and 97 buses of Andhra Pradesh government on 97 routes had been plying.

Andhra Pradesh Transport Minister K Narayan assured not to collect any additional tax from Orissa vehicles plying in Andhra Pradesh on routes not covered under the agreement.

Both Ministers also agreed to sign another agreement for smooth transportation of goods between the two states and to provide road permit to contract carriage, school buses and tourist buses.

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