A total of 101 state-of-the-art buses will connect 440 panchayats of these three districts under the scheme for the benefit of people in rural areas. It will benefit more than 27 lakh people of these districts.

While a fleet of 17 buses will connect 69 panchayats in Deogarh district benefiting over three lakh people, 29 buses will ply in 176 panchayats of Angul for the convenience of 11.50 lakh people.

In Dhenkanal, 55 buses will connect 195 panchayats benefiting over 13 lakh people, an official release said.

The scheme, first started in Malkangari district under the 5T initiative, facilitates bus service from panchayats to blocks in every district at a fare of just Rs 5. As per plan, more than 1,000 Laxmi buses will run across the state and they will be operated by Mission Shakti members, official sources said.

“About 60 buses would be initially deployed to Puri to ensure smooth transportation of devotees from far-off places to Puri,” Suresh Chandra Mahapatra, the advisor to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, told the media during a visit to the pilgrim town to oversee the preparations of the inauguration of the heritage corridor project on Wednesday.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik is likely to flag off the buses from Malatipatpur bus stand in Puri.

Sources said that the tentative launch on the eve of the Parikrama Prakalp’s opening is aimed at facilitating transport of devotees from the districts to Puri to witness the massive transformation around the 12th century shrine. The final date is likely to be announced in a day or two.

A total of 122 Jagannath Express buses are likely to connect Puri with 29 other districts.

Mahapatra also conducted a review meeting, which was attended by Temple chief administrator Ranjan Kumar Das, district collector Samarth Verma, officials from executing agencies, and members of the temple managing body.

A total of 52 buses will run in the district to connect to all panchayats. All 182 panchayats of the district will be covered under the scheme. 300 bus stops have also been set up for this purpose.

Launching the scheme through video conference, the Chief Minister said the scheme would bring happiness and joy to the people of the district and transform our rural transport system.

Stating that people’s opinions are important to him, Naveen said he came to know about the communication problems of the people from the visit of the Chief Minister’s office. It was only after that that the LAccMI Yojana was started.

The CM further said that the buses will connect village to village, improving social bonding and strengthen the rural economy.

Greeting the people of the district on the Kalahandi Foundation Day, the Chief Minister said that 63 buses will run under this scheme. These buses will operate in all panchayats of the district.

Inaugurating the scheme at the Kalahandi University campus, the Chief Minister said that the bus scheme will bring happiness to homes and take the vehicle of development forward. Altogether 1,000 buses will run under this scheme in the entire state.

The Chief Minister also named Kalahandi University as Ma Manikeshwari University.

It may be noted here that the main objective of the LAccMI scheme is to improve the local transport system and promote tourism and the regional economy. After launching the initiativve, the CM took a bus ride to Balrampur and inaugurated a BQS facility there.

Describing the day as a big milestone in the development journey of Kalahandi and a day of great joy, Naveen said a project worth more than Rs 300 crore was inaugurated here today. This apart, foundation stone for infrastructure projects worth Rs 900 crore was also laid. All these would further accelerate the development of the district, he said.

Stating that the LAccMI Yojana has been launched after getting to know about the problem of buses in the villages, the Chief Minister said the initiative will remove your daily worries as more than 1,000 buses will operate in the state soon. “The buses will come to your house and connect all – mobility of children to schools, farmers to markets, and mothers will increase,” he said.

Highlighting the development of the district, the Chief Minister said Kalahandi is our model in the field of transformation. Improvements in education, health communication, infrastructure, industry, and agriculture have made the dreams of the people of Kalahandi come true. Kalahandi has changed its history and added new success stories. The journey of development has progressed. Kalahandi is providing rice to the whole country today, the CM said

The Indravati Project is the engine of Kalahandi’s development and this project has brightened the face of of the district, he said. Nabin Odisha programme will be launched in the district soon under which each panchayat will receive Rs 50 lakh. This money will be spent on our culture and modern infrastructure, he said

The CM said that the development journey of Kalahandi will go further in the coming days with everyone’s cooperation.

The LAccMI scheme has already been launched in Malkangiri and Gajapati districts.

In the first phase, the scheme will provide bus service in rural areas of six districts – Malkangiri, Koraput, Nabarangpur, Rayagada, Kalahandi, and Gajapati.

The state government will operate 1000 buses in the rural areas across the state with allocated budget of Rs 3,178 crore under the scheme. The buses will run from panchayats to block headquarters and from block headquarters to district headquarters.

The bus services under the scheme would be launched in 6 southern districts including Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Koraput, Rayagada, Gajapati and Kandhamal in the first phase. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will flag off the bus service in Malkangiri on October 12.

In an interaction with the bus employees in Bhubaneswar on Monday, 5(T) secretary VK Pandian said an efficient road communication is the foundation for economic and social development of an area. Considering this, the government has come up with the LAccMI scheme.

“The bus service under the scheme will benefit all sections of the society including school students, members of Mission Shakti, farmers and traders. It would also help the patients and their attendants reach the hospital safely,” he said.

Advising the bus employees to carry out their duties sincerely and consider it as their moral obligation to the society, Pandian stressed on 3 S – Suraksha (security), Subidha (comfort) and Samman (respect) – to be followed by them.