The Uttarakhand government has bought 145 buses from auto giant Tata Motors through an open bidding. The red-colour buses will ply in three cities – Dehra Dun, Haridwar and Nainital. Under the Jawaharlal Nehru Renewal Urban Mission (JNRUM) programme, the Centre will bear 80 per cent of the cost and the rest 20 per cent will be borne by the state government.
A total of Rs 25 crore was sanctioned for the purchase of new buses for the convenience of tourism as well as the citizens in the three cities. Additional Transport Secretary Vinod Sharma told Business Standard, “We are trying to raise the level of comfort for our citizens as well as tourists coming to the state.”
While 60 buses would ply in Haridwar and Dehra Dun each, the rest 25 buses are for the hill resort of Nainital, mainly to promote tourism there.