THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The special bus for the Chief Minister and other ministers to travel during Nava Kerala Sadas was brought to the Kannur police ground last night. It is indicated that it will be taken to Manjeshwar on November 18th. Earlier, it was decided to take the bus to Thiruvananthapuram. KSRTC officials have been instructed to keep all the information in this regard confidential.

The body of the bus was manufactured by SM Kannappa Automobiles in Karnataka. The chassis of the bus is of Bharat Benz. The chassis was handed over for bodywork in September. The price of the chassis is Rs 43 lakhs. The 12-meter-long bus chase has a capacity of 21 seats. The chassis model is OF 1624. Those working in this field say that the average cost for body construction will be 35 lakhs. The price will go up with the increasing facilities. The Finance Department had sanctioned Rs 1.05 crore for the bus.

Nava Kerala Sadas will be from November 18th to December 24th. After this, the bus will be used by KSRTC. Transport Minister Antony Raju said that the special bus was purchased to reduce the government's expenses. He said that the news that the bus is being modified is baseless and that travelling in that bus is to avoid traffic jams.

"There will be 75 vehicles including 21 ministers and their escort. How much will it cost for these many cars to travel from Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram for one and a half months? The bus was bought to reduce the government's expenses. There are no luxuries in it as written by the media," he said.