The State Government has decided to ply 200 special buses from Cuttack to Puri via Bhubaneswar for the convenience of people to go to Puri to witness the upcoming Rath Yatra.
The decision was taken at a review meeting on Rath Yatra at the State Transport Commissioner’s office here on Saturday.
The officials decided to enable the visitors to avail 24-hour special bus services for five major days, on July 13 (day before Rath Yatra), July 14 (Rath Yatra), July 22 (day before Bahuda Yatra), July 23 (Bahuda Yatra) and July 24 (Suna Besha) during the nine-day long car festival.
Currently, 134 buses and 30 night buses are plying to Puri every day.
Similarly, the last destination of more than 100 night buses plying to Bhubaneswar has been extended to Puri during the Rath Yatra. Hence, the visitors from West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and areas on the Odisha border can reach Puri by the night buses.
All the buses travelling to Puri would be stationed at Talabania, where the visitors can avail meal at Rs 5. The Akhaya Foundation has been given the responsibility to serve the Rs 5-meal.
Special arrangements would be made for the divyang visitors by engaging four electric cars to bring them from the Talabania bus-stand to the Grand Road. A temporary resting place would be constructed at Talabania in Puri and the Palamandap bus-stand in Cuttack for the visitors.
Besides, 10 ambulance vans and cranes would be arranged for providing emergency service to the visitors at Pipili, Samantarapur, Kalpana, Konark and Puri.