Belagavi: Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy announced that 300 buses, including 100 electric ones, will soon be dedicated to the city of Belagavi for public service. He spoke after inaugurating the newly constructed Regional Road Transport office and the Joint Commissioner of Road Transport office in Belagavi on Friday, alongside public works minister Satish Jarkiholi.The city bus stand, constructed under the Smart City project in Belagavi with a 50:50 fund from the central and state govt, will be inaugurated soon. A newly constructed ‘Self-propelled Driving Path’ built at a cost of Rs 5 crore has been inaugurated in Bailhongal, he said.Vehicles with harsh horns and bright lights should be identified, and fines should be imposed. The entry of middlemen into the transport department office should be restricted, he said.Jarkiholi said there is a need to revitalise the transport department. More strict rules should be implemented for issuing vehicle driving licences as accident cases are increasing. Locally, tractors are being used to honk at the public using DJ sounds, and they should be warned, he said.There is a need for the construction of more bus stops in the districts. At the govt level, the public works department will be ready to allocate places for this. The transport department can formulate plans for the construction of bus stops, he said.Minister for women and child development Laxmi Hebbalkar said as Belagavi district needs more bus facilities, the transport department staff should provide services quickly to the public by restricting the entry of middlemen.MLA Asif (Raju) Sait said more staff should be recruited as soon as possible to reduce the burden on the existing staff, which will help the department officials to work more actively.MLA Mahantesh Kaujalagi, transport and road safety commissioner Yogish AM, city police commissioner Bhushan Gulabrao Borase, zilla panchayat CEO Rahul Shinde, additional transport commissioner KT Halaswamy, Joint transport commissioner MP Omkareshwari, Belagavi RTO Nagesh Mundasa, Shivanand Magadum, Uday Kumar R Shetty, Laxman Chingale and Vinay Navalagatti were present.
