State govt approves free bus ride for schoolchildren

Bhubaneswar: State govt on Wednesday approved the school and mass education department’s proposal to offer free bus travel for students under the Mukhyamantri Bus Seva (MBS) scheme.The decision was taken in a high-level meeting chaired by chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi here on Wednesday. Under the initiative, all school students will be eligible for free bus travel upon production of a valid student ID card or by wearing a school uniform, read an official letter issued on Wednesday.Accordingly, the Odisha State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC) has been asked to revisit the existing bus routes and timings to include the maximum number of schools in its operational routes. “The district education officers (DEOs) have been instructed separately to provide the required information for re-mapping the bus routes,” wrote Shalini Pandit, secretary, school and mass education, in her letter to the principal secretary of the transport department.In order to compensate for the revenue loss likely to be incurred due to implementation of the scheme, the govt has decided that the required budgetary provision will be made by the commerce and transport department.The school and mass education department has requested the transport department to take necessary steps for the implementation of the initiative and to make a suitable budgetary provision at the earliest.