Madhya Pradesh Brings Back State Bus Service After 21 Years

Madhya Pradesh has relaunched its public bus service after a gap of 21 years, following a shutdown in 2005. Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav launched the new service on Friday. The rollout took place at Bhopal's BHEL Dussehra ground on the birth anniversary of BJP patron Deen Dayal Upadhyay. Leaders unveiled the 'Mukhyamantri Sugam Parivahan Seva' and flagged off 351 buses under the State's Mobility Vision - 2030. Phase-one operations start across seven cities including Indore, Bhopal, Jabalpur, Rewa, Dewas, Katni, and Bhind, deploying 231 intra-city and 120 inter-city buses. The government aims to run 1,500 buses in the first year, add 2,500 to 3,000 buses every year, and reach a total of 15,000 intra-state and inter-state buses across 3,500 routes by 2031 to connect 75 percent of gram panchayats. Chief Minister Yadav stated the service offers a modern, safe, and affordable travel option for the public. Alongside this, leaders also launched the 'PM e-bus Sewa' in the state, a central scheme running electric buses on a Public-Private Partnership model. Minister Gadkari announced that the Centre plans to deploy 10,000 electric buses nationwide under this scheme at a cost of 57,000 crore rupees, with the Centre providing 20,000 crore rupees. A total of 972 electric buses have been sanctioned for Madhya Pradesh so far. Meanwhile, the rollout faced criticism as several flagged-off buses appeared to be old vehicles painted in saffron. State Congress president Jitu Patwari accused the government of pulling 10-year-old buses from scrap yards, giving them new paint and bodywork, and passing them off as a major achievement while demanding answers regarding passenger safety and vehicle fitness checks.