72,000 people carried by Bengal govt buses during lockdown: Minister

Kolkata, May 10 () The state transport undertakingsin West Bengal have carried 72,000 passengers till May 9 sincethe commencement of the lockdown, providing more than 2,300buses, a minister said on Sunday.

Transport minister Suvendu Adhikari said thedepartment also hired more than 260 private vehicles fortransportation of 7,500 people during the lockdown period, hesaid.

The government buses were run by the West BengalTransport Corporation (WBTC), the South Bengal State TransportCorporation (SBSTC) and the North Bengal State TransportCorporation (NBSTC), he said.

The transport department has also provided over 100vehicles to other state units engaged in fighting the COVID-19outbreak, Adhikari said.

In order to ensure safety of crew members and staff ofthe government buses, 3,000 PPE sets, hand gloves, faceshields and shoe covers were procured, he said.

The transport department is also procuring 150machines for sanitsing and thermal guns for the safety ofpassengers and staff, the minister said.

Over 500 labourers from Darjeeling, Alipurduar andUttar Dinajpur districts were brought to South 24 Parganas bybuses on Sunday, an official said.

All of them underwent medical screening, and theirswab samples were collected for tests, he said, adding thatthey were advised to stay in home quarantine.

Meanwhile, the government bus services were started inBankura, which has been declared a green zone, from Sunday, adistrict official said.

The transport department decided to run SBSTC buses insome routes within Bankura district after the privateoperators expressed their inability to run their vehicles withmaximum 20 passengers at a time, claiming that it would causehuge losses to them. AMR CORBDC BDC