Now that his Telangana counterpart has got himself a swanky bus, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu will soon be getting one of his own, an equally opulent one with regulation bullet-proofing and custom-built specs. Moreover, its chassis will be from the same maker, Mercedes Benz.
For the customisation, both the Telangana and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister’s have placed their orders with Chandigarh-based vehicle body builder, JCBL India. The bus will cost the Andhra Pradesh government Rs. 5 crore and is expected to be delivered in a month.
The bus with a 390 hp engine is equipped with high-res cameras on all four sides -- and one beneath as well. Security personnel riding along are provided with a terminal to view the images from the cameras and monitor security.
Apart from being bullet-proof, the bus is mine-proof as well. Compared to the earlier bus (made by Cerita), which was used by former Chief Ministers Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy and Kiran Kumar Reddy, the length of the new bus has been cut short to 9.5 m, facilitating the Chief Minister to take the bus into lanes and bylanes.
The bus is equipped with a host of salient features like a satellite phone, sofa-cum-bed, conference room, bathroom, a massage sofa, a foldable platform that which elevates through the sky roof and a speech lectern.
Mr. Naidu’s earlier bus, which was purchased for about Rs.3.5 crore, weighed over 21 tonnes. The new one will have advanced bullet-proofing material which cuts the gross vehicle weight to 14.5 tonnes.
The A.P. government placed order for the vehicle four months ago but the Telangana Chief Minister beat him to the bus by unveiling his on Thursday.
Of the two Chief Ministers, Mr Naidu has been the more itinerant, using the vehicle on his frequent travels in the district. The current bus he uses is a white and pista green behemoth with all the facilities he most cherishes: such as internet connectivity, conferencing, and audio visual presentation tools.
It has a meeting area just up from the stairs, with satin brown window shades and a plush mock-leather black sofa.
