Free bus service for the women employees of Assam secretariat or Janata Bhawan started from Wednesday which was formally flagged off by chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal.
From now onwards, at least six buses will carry the women employees from different parts of the city and also outskirts. It is a service under the Sustainable Development Goal scheme.
Flagging off the services, Sonowal said that providing buses to the women employees of the Janata Bhawan was one of the budget promises and he felt happy to have fulfilled the budget promise to ensure safety and convenience to the women employees of the Janata Bhawan.
The buses will be provided by Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC).
He also asked the ASTC authority to maintain timeliness in operating the buses. He further said that providing the free bus services to the women employees would help them to come to their place of work without any difficulty which he hopes would contribute to the development of sound work culture.
“The bus in the route 1 will start Airport VIP at 8:15 am every day except the holidays and it will cover Azara, through the national highway 37, Jalukbari, Lokhra, Last Gate and finally reach the destination. In each stoppage the bus will wait for one minute,” said an official of the state government.
Similarly, in the route two, the bus will start from Jalukbari at 8 am and it will cover Fancy Bazar, Pan Bazar, Uzanbazar, Chandmari, Ganeshguri and finally the destination. The third route is from New Guwahati to the office via Noonmati, Narengi, VIP Road, Borbari, Hengrabari and Ganeshguri. It will start at 8:30 am.
Panjabri, Sixmile, Khanapara, Jaya Nagar and Down Town areas will be covered by the route four. Then the route five will ferry the employees of Basistha Mandir, Bhetapara, Hatigaon, Lakhiminagar and Last Gate. And the last route will cover Natboma, Sijubari, Hatigaon, Sewali path, Lakhiminagar and Last Gate.
“Again, in the afternoon, all the buses will start at around 5 o’clock to the destinations,” he said.
So far, 210 women employees who applied for the facility have been provided special cards.
“It will be helpful for the employees who don’t have their own vehicle for their transportation. Otherwise, to travel in public transport system from distant places take a long time,” said a lady official in the administration department.
