Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Saturday inaugurate ‘Sutra Sewa’, an ambitious urban transport scheme, that will connect divisional headquarters and remote areas to the state capital, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh Urban Development and Housing minister, Maya Singh, said.

During a visit to her constituency, Maya Singh told The Statesman that after discontinuing the state transport corporation in 2006, there was a demand to operate government buses. The ‘Sutra Sewa’ bus scheme will fulfil the needs of public transportation in the state, she added.

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Modi will visit Indore and Rajgarh districts of Madhya Pradesh on Saturday. During his visit, he will also felicitate the winners of PM’s National Cleanliness Survey-2018, Indore, Bhopal and Chandigarh, and will dedicate development works worth Rs 4,713.75 crore in Indore. More than one lakh beneficiaries of the PM’s Housing Scheme will be benefited during the programme. PM will also dedicate the Mohanpura major irrigation project worth Rs 3866.34 crore to the nation in Rajgarh district.

“PM Modi will inaugurate the Sutra Sewa scheme by flagging off 127 buses to four municipal corporations and two municipalities in Indore,” Maya Singh said. “To fulfil the people’s needs, the Urban Development department has decided to operate reliable, luxury and economical buses between the cities in the state,” she added.

Before 2006, the Madhya Pradesh State Transport Corporation had operated bus services under the state’s Transport Department but due to financial losses it had been shut down.

“Seven hundred buses will be hired by the Urban Development department, the tender process has almost been completed. All contracted buses will soon hit the roads,” Maya Singh said.

“MP Ki Apni Bus -Sutra Sewa will operate with the help of Central government’s ‘Amrit Yojana’, state government and local bodies under private partnership,” she added.

The buses will be operated inter-cities and intra-city by the Urban Development Department.

In the first phase, 127 buses will be operated by Jabalpur, Chhindwada, Indore and Bhopal municipal corporations and Bhind and Guna municipalities.
“With an aim of providing safer and better transport services, the buses will be equipped with GPS, PIS and PAS. In view of women’s security, panic buttons and cameras will be fitted in the buses which will be linked with control command centres established in cities,” Maya Singh said.

These buses will be linked with the Public Grievance System and the Head Control Command Centre. Passengers can book their tickets through mobile phones and online.

Sixteen municipal corporations and four municipalities will be connected with the scheme such as Gwalior, Morena, Ujjain, Devas, Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur, Rewa, Ratlam, Burahanpur, Singrauli, Katni, Chhindwada, Khandwa and Satna (municipal corporations) and Bhind, Shivpuri, Guna and Vidisha (municipalities).

Modi will also inaugurate the CM’s Urban Drinking Water Scheme and will open Parks Development Scheme of the state’s Urban Development department under Centre’s Amrit Yojana.