Sambalpur: 12 new City buses have been confined at the depot for 4 years, No Permission granted even after repairs of Rs. 20 Lakh

Samalpur: Every day thousands of people come to Sambalpur for culture and tourism from neighboring city and the state. Apart from this, tourists are also coming to Sambalpur which is full of tourist places. For the convenience of these people, the government started the city bus service in 2014. But the city bus service has now become derailed due to administrative negligence and corporate favoritism. Initially, there were 32 buses running on 12 routes, but now the number of routes has reduced to 5 and the number of buses to 26. Not only that but the state government provided 12 new city buses to Sambalpur in 2017 in exchange of crores of rupees. Chief Minister showed the green flag and launched the said buses. But after the inauguration, the said buses could not even run. As a result, these billions of government assets are now rotting in the depots in the city. Most importantly, Rs 2 lakh has recently been spent on running these dung-eating buses. But even after that the buses could not run as the road permit could not be obtained. When asked Bipin Bhatia of the management company about the incident, he said that the buses will run on the 2 new routes soon after the permit comes.

In 2014, when the city bus service was launched in Sambalpur, 12 bus routes were started from Sambalpur. At this time, buses were plying from Sambalpur to Jharsuguda, Bargarh, Kuchinda, Lyda, Hirakud, Chiplima etc. Popco (West Odisha Transport Company) is in charge of city buses in Sambalpur while Utsel Western Odisha Urban Transport Corporation is managing it. Sambalpur Metropolitan Corporation is the head of this city bus service. From the beginning, the city bus service became very popular in Sambalpur. Especially the school students, college students and government office employees depended on this bus. In 2017, the government provided 12 more buses keeping in mind the needs of the people. The said new buses rolled in Sundergarh, Brajrajnagar, Jharsuguda District, Belpahad, Sonepur, Bargarh District. But due to administrative negligence, the said new buses could not run even after the inauguration. The most important thing is that the fate of the said 12 new buses is confined to the depot itself. But neither the administration is keeping an eye on it nor the management reforms.

In Sambalpur city, people depend on autos to go from one place to another. As there is no Ola or Uber system in Sambalpur like Bhubaneswar, people are forced to go by bus even if it is more expensive. But even if the government bus falls down and eats dung at the depot, it cannot continue to serve the people. After a long demand, city bus service has started from Sambalpur City Railway Station to Sambalpur Junction Railway Station. But it is not going on like minded. Ever since the city bus service started in the city in 2014, all responsibilities have been taken over by one company. There was a rule of tendering for transfer of management responsibilities within a specified time period. But after 7 years, it could not be re-tendered or another company could not get the responsibility. As a result, people are being denied the benefit of the city bus service when a private company is operating at its discretion.