Nagpur: A fresh start of the city’s public transport system was inaugurated by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union Minister for Surface Transport Nitin Gadkari on December 5, 2016. The Star Bus public transport which was perpetually embroiled in controversies was changed and four companies were given charge to run the city bus service in Nagpur city. Apart from this Buses run of Ethanol fuel was also flagged off.
The Public Transport system now run under the title of Apli Bus Pariyojana (Our Bus Service) will have 195 buses of which 55 buses will be Ethanol fueled Green Bus (manufactured by Scania). A mobile app too was launched on the occasion.
The 145 Red buses and the 55 Green buses will be equipped with GPRS System which will help the passengers and NMC authorities to know the exact location of the bus. The Star Bus public transport system was given to one company and the NMC authorities and the citizens of the city had to face a lot of problems. In order to avoid unnecessary problems, this time round the NMC authorities have decided to give the contract of public transport to four companies.
On the occasion of the inauguration, Union Minister for Public Transport Nitin Gadkari said that pollution is cause of concern for the nation. The pollution caused by the vehicular smoke emulsions causes a lot of problems. The very pollution caused by smoke emulsions from vehicular fuel burning had caused a lot of problems for the citizens of Delhi. The citizens of Delhi had found it difficult to even breathe. The combustion of diesel and petrol causes poisonous gases including Sulphurous gas. Bio-fuel like Ethanol, Methanol and Electric powered vehicles are not only the solution to dealing with the problem of pollution but also the future of the nation. Ethanol is a gas that is produced from Sugarcanes and combustion of Ethanol fuel causes least amount of pollution. The farmers will be directly benefitted from the use of Ethanol. Now a technique has also been created to make Ethanol from the husk of grains. In order to reduce the pollution, the Central Government is investing in a scheme worth Rs seventy thousand crores for a low polluting fuel called Euro-6 Petrol and Diesel will be made available to the masses. This fuel will be available to the citizens by the year 2020.
The Nagpur Municipal Corporation running Ethanol fueled buses will prove to be a milestone. Gadkari also suggested that the buses run by Diesel should be run by CNG bio-gas.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis while speaking on the occasion lauded the efforts of NMC and said that for the first time in the country, the public transport is going to be run Smart and Green. This sector will become a model for the rest of the states. The Green Buses shall serve the people of the city as well as benefit the farmers. He went on to add that the Integrated Transport System will also benefit the citizens of the Nagpur city. The model Public Transport System started by NMC will be implemented in the rest of the states as well, CM Fadnavis added.
