The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : New training range for heavy vehicle drivers planned

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Mar 22, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

New training range for heavy vehicle drivers planned

Staff Reporter

Stalin flags off 100 new buses including semi-low floor models

MORE COMFORT: Local Administration Minister M. K. Stalin with Transport Minister K. N. Nehru and Labour Minister T. M. Anbarasan, at the inauguration of new buses in Chennai on Wednesday.— Photo: Shaju John .

CHENNAI : A new driving range to teach heavy vehicle driving will be set up in the city at a cost of Rs 3.25 crore, Rural Development and Local Administration Minister M. K. Stalin said here on Wednesday.

Flagging off 100 new buses including semi-low floor buses, he said the proposed range would help in improving the skills of drivers. It would have all facilities including traffic signals to enable the drivers to get familiar with the traffic rules, he said.

No privatisation

With the increasing demand for public transport system, it became necessary to operate new buses, Mr Stalin said, adding that the State Government would not take any step towards privatising the public transport system. After the DMK Government took over, 2,230 buses have been purchased and a large number of them added to the MTC fleet. But under the previous regime the State purchased only 5,600 buses for various transport corporations.

The Minister said the semi low-floor buses would help the passengers, especially the elderly and women, board and alight comfortably.

The buses would also have additional facilities including air suspension system.

Nurse training course

A nurse training course would be introduced at the Perundurai Medical College run by the Transport Corporation. The course would begin from next academic year.

Transport Minister K. N. Nehru said the Government had allocated Rs. 550 crore in the current financial year to the transport sector. Recently the MTC had registered a record collection.

All this s was achieved owing to the support and cooperation of the employees, he added.

Labour Minister T. M. Anbarasan appealed to the Transport Minister to introduce new services in and around Kancheepuram.

Secretary to the Transport Department Debendranath Sarangi said that in Chennai alone 380 new services would be introduced and 150 semi-low floor buses added to the MTC fleet.

Mayor M. Subramanian and Transport Commissioner C. P. Singh participated.

Mr. Stalin also laid the foundation stone for a new building, and inaugurated central depot II. He also opened a driving range in the Institute of Road Transport on the Taramani campus.

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