The chief minister of Assam on the very first day of the New Year flagged off 200 Air Conditioned electric buses and launched National Common Mobility Card in Guwahati city.
Addressing the gathering here at Rupnagar locality in Guwahati, CM Sarma said, “With a view towards a clean, green future, we launched 100 CNG buses on January 1, 2023, and today, at an anticipated cost of Rs 261 crore, we are taking the lead to launch AC electric buses. This bus will run in the suburbs of Guwahati, including AIIMS, Mirza, Baihata, Jagiroad, and Chandrapur.”
The chief minister informed that each AC electric bus will have CCTVs installed in it, so that state police may take action against offenders using the CCTV footage.
The bus service's minimum fare would be Rs 10. GPS navigation has been installed on the buses to help them avoid traffic jams.
The chief minister with a view of clean, green future of the Guwahati stated that by 2025, all the Diesel run buses in the city will be stopped and all public vehicles in Guwahati will be electrified.
CM Sarma issued a strong plea to all auto-rickshaw drivers, Ola-Uber drivers, and other private bus operators to switch from fossil fuels to electric cars.
He also stated that the state government will develop an EV strategy to provide particular facilities for car conversion from fossil fuels to electric.
Moreover, arrangements will be made to increase charging stations for electric vehicles, the chief minister asserted today.
The state of Assam becomes the third state in the entire nation to introduce National Common Mobility Card.
“Assam will work along with the whole of India to prevent pollution. Efforts are being made to generate 3000 MW of solar power. Measures will be made to reduce carbon emissions. More 2000 new CCTV cameras will be installed in Guwahati city. Smart City Limited has taken up a lot of work under this initiative. We are also planning to install CCTV cameras in both the bridges of Saraighat,” added CM Sarma.
The city is set to get India’s first modern river ferry terminal within next three months with the inland water transport (IWT) department expediting the construction of the Guwahati Gateway Ghat Terminal, informed the chief minister.
Funded by the World Bank, this river ferry terminal is being built on the Brahmaputra at Fancy Bazar opposite the multi-level car parking premises of the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority.
The chief minister also recommended giving original driving licenses without harassing the applicants coming to DTO's office.
“Licensing and fitness work should be done at private driver training centre from the year 2024. The transport department has been directed to look into the matter for the same,” the chief minister added further.
Meanwhile, CM Sarma has suggested for setting up of more driver training centres in the state.
