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Making an
important announcement, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said that during major
festivals like Chhath, Holi, Diwali and Durga Puja, a large number of people of
Bihar return to their homes from Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and West
Bengal. But they have to face huge difficulties during the journey. Keeping
this in mind, the state government has taken a big step to make the convenience
of the passengers and the journey easier. The Chief Minister said that the
state government is going to operate 299 AC and non-AC buses on interstate
routes connected to Bihar. This decision has been approved in the meeting of
the Council of Ministers held on 24 June 2025.Work will be done on these points: - 75
air-conditioned (AC) and 74 deluxe buses will be purchased by the state
government, on which a total of ₹ 105.82 crores will be spent.
- Apart from
this, 150 additional AC buses will also be operated under the Public-Private
Partnership (PPP) model.
-The
government will also request the Center to increase the number of special
trains during festivals, so that passengers can get more convenience.
Chief Minister
Nitish Kumar said that this initiative of our government will help lakhs of
migrant Biharis to reach home on time and safely. This scheme will especially
bring relief to those who travel long distances on the occasion of festivals.
This step is a symbol of the state government's sensitivity and commitment
towards the people of Bihar, who are eager to celebrate festivals with their
family.
Is the list of
bus routes available? According to the statement issued by the Chief Minister's
Office, at present a detailed list of bus routes will soon be published on the
official website of the Transport Department. However, according to preliminary
information, these buses will be run from big cities like Delhi, Noida,
Lucknow, Chandigarh, Kolkata, Gurugram, Faridabad, Amritsar to major districts
like Patna, Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga, Gaya, Sasaram, Bhagalpur, Purnia and
Araria. The number of routes will be expanded based on the number of passengers
and demand.
How much
relief will adequate buses provide in travel? Experts and transport officials
believe that the operation of 299 new buses will directly benefit millions of
passengers during every festival. Till now, due to limited number of buses and
trains, passengers had to resort to expensive private vehicles, unsafe means or
overloaded transport. The new buses will not only reduce the crowd, but will
also provide comfortable and safe travel to the elderly, women and children.
This will reduce the traffic pressure during festivals in Bihar to a great
extent.
Will there be
a change in ticket prices? At present, no increase in ticket rates has been
indicated by the government. Transport department officials say that the new
bus services will be operated in such a way that their fares are within the
reach of common people and are available at reasonable rates. Fares of
air-conditioned and deluxe buses will be made public soon, and some special
discount schemes can also be implemented for students, senior citizens and
women. Also, fares for buses running under public-private partnership will also
be kept under control so that there is no unfair fare hike during festivals.
This step of
the Bihar government is definitely a relief for the migrant Biharis. In the
coming festivals, when the people of Bihar will be eager to meet their loved
ones, this new bus service will assure them of timely, safe and cheap travel.
This will also strengthen social and emotional bonding.