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The ride to a wedding need not be a troublesome affair in a rickety bus anymore. Relatives and friends of the groom would now be able to travel in luxury, air-conditioned buses and enjoy the marriage ceremony more.
Bihar State Road Transport Corporation (BSRTC), along with its private partner, Gireesh Infrastructure Private Limited, has recently launched a “Hire A Bus” scheme. This plan will allow people to rent Mercedes or Volvo buses for wedding, pilgrimage and other purposes.
“We are providing buses on rent for pilgrimage, marriage, leisure travel, corporate meeting and other purposes to public and private companies and institutions. These buses would also be provided for industries, institutions, public sector undertakings and factories on regular contract basis. People or institutions can book our buses by paying the amount fixed by the company and approved by BSRTC,” said a senior executive of Gireesh Infrastructure.
Sources said the buses can be hired for 24 hours for Rs 35,000 or Rs 100 per kilometre — whichever is higher. For bookings of more than a day, Rs 10,000 would be charged for night parking.
“The bookings have to be made well in advance (at least seven to 10 days) so that we have enough time to get special permit for the specific purpose and route. One can travel to anywhere in Bihar and Jharkhand in these buses,” said the executive.
The state transport department would issue the permit for special purposes.
He added: “The scheme has received good initial response. A few buses have been booked for weddings or parties.”
Sources said the next marriage season in the state is from April 18 to 25. As the weather is expected to be hot, many people — especially those who would have to travel long distances for weddings — would book the luxury buses.
“My son’s baraat (wedding procession) has to go to Siwan district on April 24. Siwan is around 150km from Patna. It would be very uncomfortable to travel such a long distance in summer,” said Danapur resident Dhananjay Kumar.
He added: “So, we have decided to book a BSTRC luxury bus for two days. The charges are quite reasonable.”