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Gandhinagar (Gujarat) [भारत]July 21 (ANI): Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghvi have gifted timely and safe transport facilities to students of remote, interior and hill tribal districts of the state to reach schools and colleges.

According to the release, "Under the Bhagwan Birsa Munda Tribal Gaurav Transport Service, the CM and Deputy CM flagged off 139 new buses from Gandhinagar. These new buses have been deployed in the tribal areas at a total cost of Rs 33.84 crore under a joint initiative of the Tribal Development Department of the state government and the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC)."

Lord Birsa Munda Tribal Pride Transport Service

Under this initiative, the State Government has announced to allocate 250 buses at a cost of Rs 72 crore to provide convenient transportation facilities to tribal children and youth living in remote, inaccessible and hilly areas to enable them to easily commute to schools and colleges located away from their place of residence. On November 15 last year, on the occasion of the 150th birth anniversary of Lord Birsa Munda, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had flagged off the first 111 buses under the scheme from Dediapada in Narmada district for the benefit of students from tribal areas.

More than 4100 students will get benefits

"Today, under this initiative, the CM and Deputy CM flagged off additional 139 buses to different parts of the state. These bus services are expected to benefit over 4,100 tribal students in commuting to schools and colleges. Apart from ensuring transportation, this initiative will also promote girls' education and higher education. This is expected to improve regular attendance in schools and colleges as well as reduce the dropout rate," the release said.

All buses are equipped with GPS

Additionally, students will get timely and safe transportation from their home to school and back. Under this initiative, all buses are equipped with GPS for real-time monitoring. A web portal will also provide daily updates on names, bus pass numbers, routes, school and village details of students traveling in buses. After school and college timings, these buses will also be made available to people of tribal areas under a revenue model.

The first 111 buses flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi under the initial phase of the scheme have benefited a large number of students from tribal districts of the state. During the academic year 2026-27, around 5,700 students are availing this service.

The program was attended by Tribal Development Minister Naresh Patel, Minister of State for Transport Praveen Mali, Ministers of State P.C. Baranda, Jairam Gamit, and Ramesh Katara, MLAs from tribal areas, Chief Secretary M.K. Das, senior secretaries of the concerned departments and other officials were present. (ANI)