Delhi: New bus depot to be built on 5.4 acres at a cost of Rs 160 crore
New Delhi (IANS) | A new bus depot is being built in Delhi with parking for 140 buses. This Rs 160 crore bus depot is being built in Delhi’s Kirari area and will be spread over 5.4 acres. This modern bus depot will be equipped with all modern facilities including EV charging facilities. The Delhi government is spending Rs 160 crore to build a new bus depot at Kirari. This amount includes about Rs 40 crore paid to Delhi Development Authority (DDA) for land acquisition, Rs 40 crore to be paid to Public Works Department (PWD) for construction of depot and about Rs 80 crore for depot electrification Are included.
Delhi’s Transport Minister Kailash Gehlot on Sunday laid the foundation stone of Kirari Bus Depot being built for parking of 140 buses. The Kirari Bus Depot is part of the Delhi government’s plan to build 9 new bus depots across the city to park the ever-increasing number of buses.
Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gehlot told that in the year 2015 there were 5,842 buses in Delhi, which has now increased to 7,379 in 2023. According to him, Delhi was recently ranked among the top 35 cities with the best public transport in the world. Land for the depot is a challenge as most of the land in Delhi is under DDA. It is the commitment of the government to arrange land parcels for depots to park more than 10,000 buses in the city in the coming times. Kirari Depot is one of the total 9 modern depots to be built in Delhi.
The Delhi government says that it wants to provide modern transport facilities to the people of Delhi. The Transport Minister said that considering the benefits to the public from the construction of this depot, we did not hesitate to provide Rs 160 crore for the construction of this world-class modern bus depot.
The government will soon construct 9 new depots. These depots will be located at East Vinod Nagar 2, Narela, Daurala, Burari, Savda Ghevra, Kapashera, Gadaipur and Chhatarpur. The new depot to be built at Kirari will be completed by December 2023.
At present, the total number of buses in Delhi’s government bus fleet is 7,379. Delhi government aims to increase the number of buses to 10,480 by 2025. According to the Transport Minister, 80 percent of this fleet i.e. 8,280 buses will be electric. The promotion of electric vehicles by the government will reduce the emission of 4.6 lakh tonnes of carbon gas annually and improve the air quality.
In addition, to ensure last-mile connectivity in Delhi, the Delhi government will introduce 100 new Mohalla buses on the city roads this month. This is the first time in the history of Delhi that small size Electric Mohalla Buses will ply on the roads of Delhi. The Delhi government plans to run a total of 2,180 such buses by 2025. These buses are specially designed for areas where the road width is less or areas where 12-metre buses cannot ply.
–IANS
