Bellad urges Centre to deploy e-buses in North Karnataka
He told reporters in Dharwad that he has written a letter to Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy to allot electric buses to North Karnataka cities.
'Mr. Kumaraswamy is leading the PM e-Drive initiative aimed at promoting sustainable and clean public transport across the country. It is a welcome move. He has allotted over 4,500 e-buses to Bengaluru. This is a commendable step towards enhancing green mobility and reducing urban pollution. However, we need such eco-friendly vehicles for the fast-growing towns and cities of North Karnataka,' he said.
'Mr. Kumaraswamy should consider allocating a proportionate number of e-buses to districts of North Karnataka. We need urgent improvement of public transport infrastructure. Cities like Hubballi-Dharwad, Belagavi, Kalaburagi, Ballari and Vijayapura are growing fast and demand green mobility. Allocating e-buses will greatly benefit both from environmental and socio-economic standpoint,' he said.
'These cities have basic transport infrastructure like KSRTC depots and the BRTS corridor. They are all ready for a quick and efficient e-bus rollout. The deployment will not only address the widening regional imbalance in State-level infrastructure allocation but will also contribute to reducing vehicular emissions in rapidly growing urban centres,' he said.
Such a move will generate local employment, strengthen the EV ecosystem in under-served areas and support broader objectives of the PM e-Drive and National Clean Air programme, he said.
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