BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday launched the Jagannath Express bus service under the Location Accessible Multi-modal Initiative (LAccMI) of the state government to connect all district headquarters with Puri.
The chief minister said the service will help people from every corner of the state to have darshan of Lord Jagannath. While calling for people to avail benefit of the service and come to Puri to have darshan of Lord Jagannath, he said women travelling in the buses will get 50 per cent discount in fare.
Referring to the inauguration of the Srimandir Parikrama project on Wednesday, the chief minister said it has added to the beauty of Shri Jagannath temple. Stating the Srimandir Parikrama has been opened with all necessary facilities for devotees, he said the bus service will be an added advantage for them. Stressing the government has initiated steps for protection and promotion of Jagannath culture in every village of the state under Ama Odisha Nabin Odisha programme, the chief minister said direct bus connection between district headquarters and Puri will further strengthen communication within the state.
Minister for Commerce and Transport Tukuni Sahu who joined the programme from Balangir said the Jagannath bus service will open up opportunities for more women to visit Puri and have darshan of Lord Jagannath. 5T chairman VK Pandian coordinated the programme.
In the first phase, the buses will run from 12 district headquarters of Balangir, Bargarh, Ganjam, Jharsuguda, Koraput, Kalahandi, Malkangir, Nabarangpur, Nuapada, Rayagada, Sambalpur and Sundargarh. It will be extended to all 30 districts later. The buses will have stoppage at Bhubaneswar.