SBSTC starts AC bus services from Birbhum to Kolkata

Following Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's instructions, the South Bengal State Transport Corporation (SBSTC) started air-conditioned bus services from Birbhum to Kolkata.

The buses will start their journey from SBSTC depot in Suri and come to Kolkata.

The first route from Suri to Kolkata via Dubrajpur and Elembazar has already started on May 28. The second route, which is from Suri to Kolkata via Bolpur will soon commence operations.

The local MLAs and panchayat members requested the Chief Minister to start air-conditioned bus service from Birbhum to Kolkata mentioning poor connectivity of the district at the recently-concluded district review meeting.

The Chief Minister assured them that the problem would be solved and instructed senior officers of the Transport department to take the necessary steps.

"The bus will start from Suri at 5.15 am and reach Bolpur at around 6 am. It will take four hours to reach the state capital," said an officer of the district administration.

Another bus, which will ply through Dubrajpur and Elembazar, will start its journey from Suri at 7.00 am for Kolkata, the officer added.

The state government decided that 270 buses operated by West Bengal Transport Corporation (WBTC), South Bengal State Transport Corporation (SBSTC) and North Bengal State Transport Corporation (NBSTC) will begin operations soon. The 270 buses include air-conditioned mini-buses, air-conditioned deluxe buses, 10 CNG buses and four electric buses.

The state government wanted to provide air-conditioned bus services for the districts, in which buses will start their journey from district headquarters to Kolkata. These 270 buses will solve that purpose, said a source.

Thousands of people visit the capital from the districts, and vice-versa, round the year. With several steps taken by the Mamata Banerjee government in the past six years, these locations have become immensely popular among people from different states and even abroad.

The footfall has increased in all of these places and at the same time Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has taken different measures to ensure overall development of the Hills. Thus, besides tourists, common people of the area will also be immensely benefitted with the decision to introduce the additional buses