PATNA, May 17 -- Chief minister Nitish Kumar on Friday flagged off 20 women special pink buses, operated by state-run transport corporation, in six major cities, including Patna, Bhagalpur, Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga, Gaya and Purnea, to ensure safer journey for girls and women. These buses will be equipped with CCTV cameras, panic button, GPS tracker and mobile charging points. A section of transport department officials said the initiative was apparently launched to woo the womenfolk ahead of the state elections by the ruling dispensation. "Initially, these buses will be manned by male staff, but later the department intends to replace them with female staff. The corporation will recruit women staff if required," added a senior officer. Along with the pink buses, the CM also launched operation of 166 deluxe buses of Bihar State Road Transport Corporation Ltd (BSRTCL) to improve the quality of public transport in the state. Deputy CMs Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, transport minister Sheela Kumari, parliamentary affairs minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary and government officials were present at the programme at the CM's official residence here. A statement issued by the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said, "The CM inspected the buses and inquired about the facilities before flagging them off. This is an important step taken by the state government towards women's empowerment, under which 20 pink buses have now started operating. This will make the journey of women safe and comfortable. Besides, 166 deluxe buses will operate in various districts of the state". The state government had in the 2024-25 annual budget announced plans to run pink buses exclusively for women in four cities - Patna, Muzaffarpur, Purnea, and Bhagalpur. "All 20 pink buses are CNG (compressed natural gas)-powered vehicles and will operate in the six towns. The buses will start operating in other districts in the next few months. We are planning to hire female conductors and drivers to run these buses, which will operate from 7 am to 8 pm daily," said the official. Women special buses were earlier launched during 2019-20 during the stint of Santosh Kumar Nirala as transport minister....