Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has launched the Location Accessible Multimodal Initiative (LAccMI) bus service in Malkangiri district on Thursday.
After Malkangiri, the service will also be extended to Koraput, Rayagada, Nabarangpur, Kalahandi, and Gajapati districts.
A fleet of 36 buses was launched in the first phase, and more than 1000 buses will be deployed in a phased manner under this scheme, an official said.
As per the plan, in the coming days, these buses will ply between panchayats and blocks and between panchayats and the capital city of Bhubaneswar.
CM Naveen Patnaik himself purchased a ticket for Rs 10 and travelled in a bus to check its comfort.
Meanwhile, the opposition BJP has launched a fierce attack on the BJD-led government.
Referring to the use of the party’s conch symbol on the buses, Leader of Opposition (LoP) Jayanarayan Mishra said, “The IAS officers who should have been impartial are working on the basis of the party. Then what should we think? Here the government is working like a party, we will meet the Election Commissioner of India at New Delhi and submit a report regarding misuse of power.”
But the tribal villagers of Malkangiri are happy as they see buses on their roads for the first time.