The Transport Department has decided to run all State Road Transport Corporation (RTCs) buses on biodiesel in the next four months.
The first batch of 10 buses running on biodiesel was flagged off by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday.
The Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas had issued a gazette notification on August 10 allowing transporters to run buses on biodiesel from 20 per cent blend to 100 per cent. The KSRTC has become the first transport company to run buses on biodiesel after the Centre’s Order.
Minister for Transport Ramalinga Reddy said the operational cost of buses would reduce drastically because biodiesel costs lesser than regular diesel.
The department would save about Rs. 50 crore annually by operating buses on biodiesel, besides it being environment friendly, he said.
Chain-snatching cases
With several chain-snatching cases reported in the city, Home Minister K.J. George on Friday said the police have been told to book habitual offenders under the Goonda Act.
He said repeated chain-snatching incidents had created panic among women, who now think twice before going for a walk alone.
Speaking to presspersons after paying floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi on his 147th birth anniversary at the Vidhana Soudha, Mr. George said the police have not been able to contain chain-snatching incidents as culprits obtain bail easily.
