TN to buy 2,230 buses: Nehru

Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu, Sep 3 (UNI) The Tamil Nadu Government will purchase 2,230 buses at cost of Rs 200 crore, Transport Minister K N Nehru has said.

Speaking after laying the foundation stone for a new bus depot at Vadalur here last night, Mr Nehru said while the government had allocated Rs 100 crore, the balance funds was raised through borrowings by the Transport Department.

The state-run transport corporation will operate 3,900 mini-buses with ten vehicles for each panchayat.The number of bus routes will also be increased to 18,000 from the current 15,500 in two years.

The Minister said only Kumbakonam, Villupuram and Salem zones reported profits for the transport corporation while the others totted up losses to the tune of Rs 800 crore.

Of a total of 17,500 buses, only 9,000 were operable. In Chennai, the number of buses will be increased from the current 1,300 to 4,000.

There were approximately 97 lakh vehicles in Tamil Nadu with 5,000 new vehicles being added every day. About 10,000 people applied for licences on a daily basis and the number of personnel in the Transport Department were inadequate to handle the increased volume of work.

The government will examine proposals to up the staff strength, he added.

UNI XR GM 1730