In the absence of a city bus service, people are heavily dependent on autorickshaws in Sambalpur. Telegraph picture

Sambalpur, Jan. 7: Two private operators have evinced interest to partner with the government for running a city bus service in a public private partnership mode.

Chief executive officer of the Western Odisha Urban Transport Services Limited, which is responsible for the overall management of the proposed city bus service in Sambalpur, Anirudhha Padhan, said: “Two private players have submitted tenders for the bus. We are yet to open the tender.”

The transport company had floated a tender in August inviting private players to run and maintain the buses. The last date for submitting the tender was September. When no party came forward, the authorities had extended the last date. Two parties have now offered their proposals and the administration is hopeful that the city would have the bus service shortly.

According to the proposal, the government will procure buses and the private partner will run and maintain them. Thirty-two buses will run in the city. The buses have been procured and their routes have already been identified. There is a proposal to run the buses on four routes in the city — Khetrajpur-Ainthapali, Ainthapali-Dhanupali, Dhanupali-Samaleswari temple and City station-Government Bus Stand.

It has also been proposed to offer connectivity to nearby towns — Bargarh, Jharsuguda, Burla and Hirakud.

“The city lacks organised intra-city transportation, which forces the residents to depend on autorickshaws, which is quite expensive. Public buses are essential in the city now. I am happy that two private operators have evinced interest. The authorities should take initiative to begin the city bus service as soon as possible,” said Antaryami Panigrahi, a local resident.