The much hyped `Samajwadi Vikas Rath’ - a 10-wheel modified Mercedes Benz bus which was supposed to be home to Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav during the Rath Yatra developed a snag forcing the CM to switch to his official car and continue with his yatra.
The vehcile developed the snag within half an hour of the modified bus being flagged off and traversing barely a kilometre from la Martiniere Colege ground to the lohia Path gate. The driver tried to repair the fault, but failed.
“The CM patiently waited for over 45 minutes inside the bus but when told that it was not a minor fault, he switched to his official SUV and continued with his journey,” a security official attached with the CM said.
Meanwhile, engineers attending the stranded ‘Samajwadi Vikas Rath’ said that there was a major fault in the Mercedes Benz bus as all the wheels got jammed. One of them said that a crane was brought to tow it to a workshop but it failed to lift the bus. Now expert engineers have rushed to repair the fault.
Earlier there were reports that the battery had got discharged but later it was found that the battery was ok.
A source said that an inexperienced driver, who used to drive an Ashok leyland bus, was engaged for the Rath and due to long pressing of brakes, it got jammed.
The Rath is a modified red Mercedes bus having all modern gadgets and is estimated at Rs 5 crores. There is a hydraulic lift that allows a person to be raised and address crowds during road shows and rallies from the bus. It has a CCTV camera, lCD televisions, sofas, a bed. A loudspeaker fitted on the bus played a campaign song about development.
The bus painted in red focusses on the SP government’s achievements. Major schemes launched by Akhilesh Yadav government are highlighted on the bright red sides, prominent among them being lucknow Metro, a new government ambulance service and the ambitious dial-a-cop’s-help initiative launched some time ago.
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