Finance and Excise Minister Sashi Bhusan Behera on Tuesday inaugurated city bus service, a much-awaited commuter service, for Baleswar town and its periphery.
Behera said these buses would ply to different destinations of the district and they would connect rural pockets with the urban patches.
The connectivity to various sites including Chandipur beach, Nilgiri Panchalingeswar and Remuna’s Khirochora Gopinath temple would be easier and cheaper for commoners, he added.
Sources said the allotment of buses for the city service for the district was approved in a high level meeting held in 2014.
It was decided that buses costing Rs 33 lakh each with seating capacity 40 would ply between Purunabaleswar and Mitrapur, Station square and Sajanagargh, Station square and Soro via Rasalpur and Anantapur, Somnathpur and Balramgadi in a schedule intervals.
Baleswar MP RK Jena said that in the first phase 10 buses have been provided and another 10 buses would be provided in the next phase.
The Baleswar-Bhadrak urban transport trust collector and chairman said the service would fulfil a long-cherished dream of the district.
Baleswar Municipality Chairman Alok Sahu said the service would be provided through an agency.
“The service may experience bottlenecks of traffic congestion due to encroachments and the impediments would be cleared after the monsoon season”, added Sahu.
Among others, Sadar MlA JP Dash, District Collector Pramod Das, ZP President Nibedita Mohanty and Balasore Regional Improvement Trust (BRIT) chairman Gouri Kumar Rout were present.