BHUBANESWAR: Even as Odisha government has extended Mo Bus service to nine more cities and towns of Ganjam, Sambalpur and Jharsuguda districts, city bus service remains a distant dream for several urban localities, especially in the tribal regions of the state.
Despite the potential for city bus service, people in urban localities of Mayurbhanj, Koraput, Rayagada, Kalahandi and other such districts are yet to get the facility. People in Baripada municipality of Mayurbhanj, a tribal dominated district, are heavily dependent on auto-rickshaws and private vehicles due to lack of local bus service.
Baripada municipality, home to around 1.5 lakh people, also has a university, two ITI colleges, a polytechnic, a law college and other educational institutions. Besides, people from the municipality and its adjoining areas frequently commute to Balasore town, around 61 km away. However, no city bus service is available for the region.
“As the area is witnessing steady growth, city bus service will be of immense help to commuters, especially school and college students. It will also make commuting affordable for the locals,” said Manoj Singh, a tribal resident Baripada town.
Like Baripada, the Jeypore-Koraput-Sunabeda-Semliguda-Damanjodi cluster also has potential for city bus service in Koraput district. On an average around 9,000 people commute from Jeypore municipality to Koraput and Semiliguda towns on a daily basis. While private buses are plying regularly on the routes, the demand is also growing for city bus service, for which the government had procured 20 vehicles four years back. The service, however, is yet to be launched owing to dispute over routes, sources added.
“With growing population and development of the district it is high time the government started city bus service in the region,” said former vice-chairman of Jeypore municipality Surya Narayan Rath. Apart from the two tribal-dominated districts, there is also demand from others for city bus service in the urban localities.
While officials of Housing and Urban Development department could not be reached for their comments, officials of Capital Region Urban Transport (CRUT) that manages Mo Bus service in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Puri and Rourkela said the bus service is being expanded as per the government’s order.
CRUT MD Vijay Amruta Kulange said, “Our focus at present is on providing better transport in existing cities and towns where Mo Bus service is available. With time, we will strengthen our service and take appropriate measures to expand it to other urban areas as well”.
