Delhi CM flags off 150 electric buses, announces 3-day free ride
Darpan News Desk IANS, 24 May, 2022 12:32 PM
New Delhi, May 24 (IANS) Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday flagged off 150 electric buses from the Indraprastha Depot and also announced free travel in these buses for the next three days.
Kejriwal along with Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot also took a ride on board an electric bus from the Indraprastha Depot to Rajghat after flagging off the fleet.
"Today is a happy day, I am happy and hope the people of Delhi are also happy. Today 150 electric buses have hit the roads of Delhi. I also took a short ride in the bus. These are beautiful and luxurious buses," Kejriwal said.
"We have made the ride free for the next three days. Take a ride around the city and enjoy. The electric buses will also reduce pollution."
He also announced that 150 more buses will join the fleet after one month.
"The capital city needs total 11,000. Today we have achieved the 7,200 mark, which is the largest number of buses in the history of Delhi. We will also buy 600-700 CNG buses as production of electric buses is very less now. The target is to have 2,000 electric buses on the roads of Delhi in a year" the Chief Minister added.
On the appointment of Vinai Kumar Saxena as the new Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, Kejriwal said they will work together for the development of Delhi.
As per sources, the ED raided the house of Bhupinder Singh Honey, who is the nephew of Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, on Tuesday and Wednesday, seizing around Rs 10 crore in cash from his premises.
On Monday, the political situation in Punjab and the names of probable candidates were discussed in detail at the BJP National Headquarters in Delhi under the chairmanship of party's National President J.P. Nadda, in the presence of Home Minister Amit Shah.
Terming the nomination of Mann as a stage managed non-event, the SAD President said AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal never wanted to make Mann the face of the party in Punjab.
A source said Rs 4 crore in cash was recovered from the house of Bhupinder Singh Honey, the nephew of Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi. Another Rs 2 crore was recovered from the house of one Sandeep Kumar.
According to the Delhi government, as the name suggests, these buses will be environment friendly as they would emit zero per cent smoke and run fully on electricity. These 12-meter-low floor AC, E-buses will have CCTV cameras, panic buttons enabled to ensure women safety as well as pink seats. Besides having GPS and live-tracking, these buses will have kneeling ramps for the differently-abled population.
The farmers' agitation against the three contentious farm laws, which were later revoked, will not impact BJP's victory in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections as the peasants of western part of the state will vote in favour of the party, a veteran BJP leader said.