State to increase number of electric vehicles in phases, says Transport Minister

The State government will support the State-run transport undertakings to slowly increase the proportion of electric buses, Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy said in Belagavi on Friday.

“Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation has already introduced a large fleet of electric buses in Bengaluru. Other STUs will be introducing electric vehicles in phases. . Electric buses will be provided in all districts. Kalayn Karnataka Road Transport Corporation will soon introduced 300 buses in Belagavi, which will include 100 electric buses,’‘ he said. He was speaking at the inauguration of the new office of the joint commissioner of transport and Regional Transport Office near Triveni circle in Belagavi. The office complex has been built at a cost of ₹10 crore.

The Department of Transport is one of the revenue generating departments in the government. But its functioning was affected due to long standing vacancies in the department. The State government has begun the process of filling vacancies in Transport Department. Once it is completed, there will be perceptible changes, he said.

He appealed to officers and staff to reduce the middle men menace in the department offices. The officers and staff of the office should work towards providing quick and efficient services to the public, he said. He urged officials to deal strictly with traffic violations like loud horns and bright lights.

Public Works and District in charge Minister Satish Jarkiholi thanked Mr. Reddy for the new office complex in Belagavi and other works. “The construction of the Belagavi city bus stand, taken up under the Smart City scheme is nearly complete. It will be inaugurated soon. The Central and State governments have shared the cost of the project equally. The automated driving path was constructed in Bailhongal at the cost of ₹5 crore. It will help train KKRTC drivers in large numbers,” he said. He demanded 500 buses for the Belagavi district and construction of more bus stands in rural areas. He said PWD would work with the Transport Department in this.

Satish Jarkiholi gave some suggestions to revitalise the Transport Department. “The department should provide advice and instructions to the public, as well as provide necessary training to vehicle drivers. Stricter rules should be implemented for issuing vehicle driving licenses and licenses should be issued. This could greatly reduce the number of accidents,” he said.

He said officers should identify old vehicles and ask the owners to renew their documents. Tractor users who cause inconvenience by using loud horns and by not using tail lamps, should be fined, Satish Jarkiholi said.

Women and Child Development Minister Lakshmi Hebbalkar said that Belagavi district was among the biggest in the State and needed more buses. She said that she frequently got complaints about agents harassing common people in Transport Department offices. She urged officers to extend courtesy and prompt service.

She opposed criticism by the opposition against the State government that there were no development works being taken up. “Our government has not lagged behind in development. It is taking up several development projects along with guarantee schemes,” she said.

“There is not a single example of the BJP governments in the past bringing schemes for the poor. Our opponents do not want to deliver guarantee schemes to the people, they have never done anything good for the people. They are only busy criticising our schemes. But now that our guarantee schemes have succeeded, they are copying them and using them as poll promises in Bihar and other States, she said.

MLAs Asif Seth and Mahantesh Kaujalagi, Transport and Road Safety Commissioner Yogish A.M, Police Commissioner Borase Bhushan Gulabarao, Joint Commissioner of Transport S. Omkareshwari, Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer Rahul Shinde, Additional Commissioner Halaswamy, Regional Transport Officer Nagesh Mundase, other officers like B.P. Umashankar, Purushottam, C.T. Murthy and many other officials were present.