Udupi  : As many as 12 buses were launched in Udupi under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JnNURM) on Wednesday. Although 30 JnNURM city buses were allotted to Udupi district, 12 have been pressed into service while the remaining 18 are under process of receiving permits and route timings. Five JnNURM buses will be on roads from Thursday and, subsequently, within a week, seven other buses will be pressed into service.

The first JnNURM bus of the day will start service at 6 am while the last bus will be available at 10.30 pm. The buses will cover all the city routes. The minimum fare will be Rs 5 and maximum would be Rs 13. Each bus will have 10 trips and ply within an area of 20-kilometre radius.

The buses would have facilities like low floor and CCTV cameras for safety. There are rear view cameras with panic buttons to attend to emergency calls. The voice announcements system with LED displays would offer details of various areas and stops. The stop buzzer and electropneumatic doors will enhance the comfort level for the passengers. The buses comprise of intelligent transport system. It offers ramps for physically challenged people.

District In-charge Minister Pramod Madhwaraj, who inaugurated the buses, said that the vehicles were pressed into service keeping in mind the students who travel from remote villages to schools and colleges. “The buses will reach such remote areas. As the demand increases, the state government will try to provide bus services to such routes after a survey and an assessment of feasibility,” said the minister.

He remarked that the stops would be built in the site that housed the DDPI’s office, earlier. The 41-cent site has been transferred to KSRTC, and the construction of the bus stand will be taken up at a cost of Rs four crore. Madhwaraj added that, a new bus stop would come up at Bannanje, where the three acres of land, earlier possessed by PWD, has been transferred to KSRTC. The bus stop would accommodate the shelter for long-route buses and the cost of the project is Rs 5 crore.

The minister maintained that the proposal to transfer the land at Bannanje to KSRTC was opposed by three previous chief ministers in the BJP government. “Chief Minister Siddaramaiah consented, following the demand,” he said, and assured that more buses would be pressed into service, if need arises and the private lobby will not work in the region.

The JnNURM bus depot, built at a cost of Rs 6.11 crore, will be inaugurated shortly said KSRTC Deputy Commissioner Vivekananda I Hegde. He said the students are offered transport facilities at concession price. Two buses will ply on the route comprising Manipal-Udupi-Adi Udupi-Malpe-Thottam-Hoode, three buses on Rajathadri-Manipal-Udupi-Mission compound-Korangrapadi -Alevoor route, two buses for the route Kalyanapura-Santhekatte-Udupi-Doddannagudde- Chakratheertha-MGM-Udupi-Rajathadri, one bus each for the routes Udupi-Nittur-Santhekatte-Kemmannu-Hoode, Parkala-Manipal-Udupi-Udayavara-Pithrodi-Kemannu, Kelarkalabettu-Mudubettu-Udupi-Manipal-Herga, Udupi-Nittur- Kelarkalabettu-Kodavoor-Malpe and Ananthanagara-Manipal-MGM-Indiranagar-Kukkikatte-Udupi-Malpe-Malpe beach. Seventy nine drivers are trained for the purpose, he explained.

The KSRTC DC said that a proposal for permit applications for 16 buses plying on the route Udupi-Karkala is under way. Besides, plans have been chalked out for nine buses on the route covering Mangaluru to Bhatkal. The permits are issued, however, the timings are to be given, he said.