Hazaribagh, Nov. 13: Hazaribagh bus stand, which was once a thriving business centre but fell on bad days in 2000, will get a fresh lease of life soon.

Air-conditioned buses will start plying from the depot to three districts of the state, including Ranchi and East Singhbhum, from November 19. The state transport department has entered into an agreement with Pammi Travels, a private operator that operates buses to Calcutta at present, to start the service under the name, Drutgami Vatanukulit Delux Bus Sewa.

To begin with, 30 buses will ply to Ranchi, Dhanbad, Jamshedpur (East Singhbhum) and Calcutta (Bengal). Later, other districts of the state will be covered too.

District transport officer (DTO) Pranav Kumar Pal told The Telegraph: "Pammi Travels has signed an agreement with us to start the AC bus service from the government bus stand, thus helping improve connectivity between Hazaribagh and other districts. The AC buses will bring comfort to passengers."

Owner of Pammi Travels Arshad Perwez said that the services would be non-stop.

"This means the buses will not stop anywhere between Hazaribagh and the fixed destination. The buses will be available from 6am to 6pm. Gradually, we will extend the service to other districts of Jharkhand," he added.

The fares have been fixed.

While passengers travelling to Calcutta have to cough up Rs 600, the rate is Rs 200 for Jamshedpur and Rs 120 each for Ranchi and Dhanbad.

The Hazaribagh terminus came into existence in 1952 on five acres with a fully equipped workshop to repair buses. During that time, buses at the depot used to cater to all districts of Bihar and Jharkhand as well as Bengal and Odisha.

But lack of maintenance and negligence by the government slowly led to loss of business.

At present, only 10 buses ply from the depot to three districts - Ranchi, Dhanbad and Gaya (Bihar). Rather, it's more famous as a hangout zone for local youths, who come here in the evening and stay put till late night, sipping coffee and relishing snacks.

No wonder, local residents welcome the move.

"The service offered by the government bus terminus was well-known. If one had to go anywhere, the first name that came to mind was lal gadi (red bus) because of its famous colour," recalled septuagenarian Mahendra Pandey, a resident of Korrah mohalla.