The veil has been lifted on a luxury bus specially built for the Liberal Democratic Party government’s Nava Kerala Sadas. The bus, which left for Kerala from Bangalore’s Lalbagh, reached Kasaragod, the venue of the first Nava Kerala Sadas, on Saturday morning.
The state government has managed to keep the Rs 1,050-crore Mercedes luxury coach a secret even as social media is abuzz with speculations about its features and specialities. The bus will be used to commute Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his ministers during the month-long Nava Kerala Sadhas.
You will notice that the sides of the bus have pictures of the iconic destinations of Kerala engraved on them. You’ll see things that are instantly recognizable as Kerala: Chinese fishing nets, houseboats, temples, mosques, and churches.
Of the Rs 1.05 billion sanctioned for the purchase of the buses, the Benz chassis alone cost Rs 44 million. The rest of the money was spent on bodybuilding.
The body of the bus was manufactured by Karnataka-based SM Kannappa Automobile. His model of the 1624 Bharat Benz chassis was handed over for bodywork in September. The average price of a body is about 3.5 million rupees, according to people close to the field. Costs also vary depending on the addition of equipment.
The 12-meter-long private bus is equipped with the same modern equipment as a caravan. Of the 25 seats, the one in the front is a specially designed auto-reclining seat imported from China for the Prime Minister. Other amenities include a bio-toilet, refrigerator, microwave, special dining area and wash basin for Rs 1.1 million. The vehicle is also equipped with its own elevator.
This bus features an attractive exterior with a chocolate brown body. Regulations stipulate that contract transport buses must only be white in color, but brown was chosen on special instructions from the Ministry of Transport.
This bus has a special registration number starting with ‘KL-15’ allotted to KSRTC. The registration number is KL-15 A 2689.