HYDERABAD: Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao would soon have a new bulletproof bus for his district tours. With this being the election year, Chandrasekhar Rao would be visiting the entire State and for this purpose, the Transport officials have decided to procure a new bulletproof bus for the CM, in addition to the existing one. The new bus will have more security features than the existing one, sources said.
According to the sources, the State is likely to spend `7 crore on new bus, which would be available for use in the next couple of months. The present bus being used by Rao was purchased three years ago for `4 crore and was manufactured by JCPL of Chandigarh. As the threat perception was high, the security of the Chief Minister was increased some six months ago and the Greyhounds Forces, the elite State force to combat Maoists, also joined the CM Security personnel.
Now, the new bus will be manufactured keeping the threat perception in mind, sources said. Roads & Buildings, and Transport department principal secretary Sunil Sharma and other officials are currently on the job. The government has already constituted an eight-member committee for specifying the design, standards and technological advancement in newly procured bus. According to sources, once the committee finalises the features and security aspects required for new bus, the proposal would be sent to General Administration Department for inviting tenders.