Travel by Buses or Flights - which is cheaper?

State transport corporations will operate buses bought under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) if private operators do not replace their old polluting vehicles with the new ones. Under JNNURM, Bengal acquired 1,300 buses 1,200 for Kolkata and 100 for Asansol-Durgapur. The transport department hoped the private sector would pick up 1,030 buses, leaving only 270 for the state-owned corporations. Of these, CSTC and CTC were to operate 100 each, SBSTC and WBSTC 25 each and WB Hidco 20. While WBSTC has entered into joint venture agreements with private firms for 300 ultra-low floor AC buses, the state has found few takers for the 730 semi-low floor buses. With only 10 private bus operators opting for Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland buses, the state is in a fix as it has to shell out 15% of the cost of buses upfront and then take 50% as loan from banks. Apsrtc and Ksrtc are also having many buses on board at state level. Sources said the government is in no shape to cough up the amount and will delay the delivery schedule beyond the December 31 deadline. But transport minister Ranjit Kundu put up a brave front on Thursday, claiming the state corporations will run the buses if private operators do not step forward. “We expected a large number of operators, whose buses were scrapped following the high court order, to apply for the buses. The move would have helped resolve the present crisis. There are fewer buses on the road, causing hardship to commuters. But the response has been short of encouraging. Still, we are optimistic that more operators will take interest after Puja,” Kundu said. According to transport secretary Sumantra Chowdhury, Rs 88.5 crore has already been advanced to manufacturers to buy 60 Volvo, 770 Tata and 470 Ashok Leyland buses. “Let’s see when the buses hit the streets. It could be before December 31 or after. But we will add more buses almost on a daily basis,”

Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee is leaving for a three-day vacation to Maithon on Saturday. This is possibly the first time the CM is taking a holiday soon after returning from one. He had been to Mongpong in north Bengal only a fortnight ago. His return to the city was delayed then as a strike by Jet Airways pilots forced the cancellation of his flight from Bagdogra. On his way to the tourist destination, a herd of elephants had blocked the road, holding up the chief minister’s convoy for some time. For years, the CM had not even taken a single vacation. After the Left Front swept the 2006 Assembly polls and returned to power, he spent two days by the sea at Sankarpur with his wife and daughter. During that trip where the media followed him on this “rare” occasion he bought fish, walked on the beach with his family, sat by the seaside under an umbrella and even interacted with others holidaying there. This came after a long and hectic schedule that spanned months. But of late, Bhattacharjee has not been keeping well. He had been stretching himself to the limit visiting the districts to supervise work almost every weekend for the last few months. He is said to believe that this would have a positive impact on the administrative work at the district level and speed up development projects at the block and village levels. But the work has finally taken its toll. With his health giving him serious trouble, Bhattacharjee is taking the opportunity of the Puja holidays Writers’ Buildings is closed for a while for yet another trip outside the city. Bhattacharjee will leave on Saturday, which is Ashtami. He and his wife will stay at the public health engineering department’s guest house at Maithon till September 29. C Jagmohan, DIG (Burdwan range) and Burdwan SP Rajaram Rajsekharan have already inspected the area which falls under Salanpur police station’s jurisdiction and beefed up security arrangements there. Another high-profile leader Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee has already reached his native village in Kirnahar in Birbhum on Thursday to celebrate Durga Puja. Mukherjee will return on September 28. Jagmohan also visited Kirnahar to inspect security arrangements there. Later, he said that both Burdwan and Birbhum police have been alerted as the two VIPs will be staying in these districts for the pujas. They have been asked to take appropriate security measures, he said.

For more information on bus ticket, visit bangalore bus tickets website.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/flights-articles/travel-by-buses-or-flights-which-is-cheaper-1268818.html

Policy News & Views August 2009 (slideshare.net)
Patience Is A Virtue [Snap Judgment] (jezebel.com)
Sonia Gandhi calls for end to ‘VVIP’ lifestyles for politicians (telegraph.co.uk)
Jet Airways’ pilots mass sick-leave make the once glorious Indian airline brand look confused (simpliflying.com)
Jet Airways’ CEO Resigns (online.wsj.com)
Air India Pilots Call Off Protest (online.wsj.com)
India’s Finance Minister Expects 6% Inflation by April (online.wsj.com)
Jet Airways (slideshare.net)
India to import food amid drought (news.bbc.co.uk)
Jet Airways Pilots End Protest (online.wsj.com)

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