10 Telugu Velugu buses to tribal mandals launched

VISAKHAPATNAM : Transport, BC Welfare, Handlooms and Textiles minister K Atchannaidu, during his maiden visit to the city after taking charge of the new potfolio, flagged off 10 ‘Telugu Velugu’ (earlier called Palle Velugu) buses to th erural and tribal areas of the district, at Maddilapalem RTC Bus complex on Sunday.

On the occasion, Atchannaidu said that the new Telugu Velugu bus service would be very useful for the rural and Agency area people for frequent mobility.

Despite being ordinary service, these buses have many hi-tech features, providing safe journey for the tribal people even on ghat roads.

They have anti-lock breaking system, electro-magnetic retarder which reduces the speed of the vehicle in down gradient, speed limiting device (SLD) and better steering stability. The buses are best suited to ghat route operations.

The RTC has bought these hi-tech buses at a cost of `2.5 crore drawn from the AP Tribal sub-plan funds, the minister said.Answering to a query, he said that the government was seriously thinking about the losses of the RTC and how to bring back its golden days.

“Already, I have sdiscussed the issue with chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu and RTC higher officials. Having assumed the office recently, I am yet to know the ground realities. After a thorough study, I will call all the stakeholders and chalk out plans for strengthening the organisation. Meanwhile, officers and workers should extend their cooperation to the management and work hard for the RTC’s development,” said Atchannaidu.

In response to another question, he said that following the Supreme Court orders, the state government was solving problems of the contract/out-sourcing employees regarding job security and financial benefits. He ruled out the takeover of MP Kesineni’s buses by the RTC and said that the government would take stringent action against private travel agencies which often violate the traffic rules.