Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday said that the state administration has decided to phase out diesel buses completely from Guwahati in the next one year making the city a green corridor zone.
The CM said, “The government has added 56 electric buses to Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC) taking the total number of electric buses to 356. Moreover, under PM e-Bus Sewa, 100 more electric buses will be rolled out on the streets of Guwahati.”
Sarma further stated that the diesel buses will be completely phased out of Guwahati by 2026 making the city a green corridor zone. The diesel buses will run in other profitable routes like Guwahati-Nagaon and Guwahati-Nalbari routes etc.
CM Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday laid the foundation of a project to give a modern outlook of Assam State Zoo cum Botanical Garden involving a financial outlay of Rs 362.04 crore.
The project will include adding various facilities for animals and visitors to make Assam State Zoo cum Botanical Garden a modern and state-of-the-art centre.
Speaking on the occasion, CM Sarma said that established in 1957, Assam State Zoo cum Botanical Garden is the only zoological and botanical centre in the entire North East which is a leading conservation centre for the region’s rich biodiversity.
Set up at a sprawling area, Assam State Zoo is a centre where flora and fauna of several unique species exist together. Reminiscing his childhood memories with the Assam State Zoo cum Botanical Garden, he said that once he became the Chief Minister, he took the decision to make the zoo a modern one. Therefore, it was decided to infuse Rs 362.04 crore for its modernisation purpose.
The Chief Minister said that the State government has already planned to set up two more zoos at Dibrugarh and Silchar respectively. Both the zoos will be built in an open zoo model, as Rs 259 crore and Rs 214 crore have been earmarked for Dibrugarh and Silchar zoos respectively.
