Lucknow, Oct 26 : The Uttar Pradesh government will ply electric buses in 2025 in the Maha Kumbh township in Prayagraj to make the event environment friendly. Diesel buses will move in its periphery. The state government has decided to add at least 500 electric buses. The buses will either be purchased by the Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) or hired on contract from private firms. The UPSRTC will float a tender within three months to buy 100 electric buses. Each of these electric buses will cost around Rs 1.5 crore and will need a recharge every 250 kms. The firms from which these buses will be purchased will also provide chargers on land to be provided by the UPSRTC. The firms will have to impart training to UPSRTC drivers for operating the buses and their annual maintenance. In addition to buying 100 electric buses in the first phase, the UPSRTC will also hire another 250 electric buses on contract, the tender for which will be floated soon. The hired buses will be operated by drivers and conductors of the private agency with which the corporation will enter into contract. The UPSRTC board has decided to operate electric buses between religious and historical cities as well as those cities which are important from the point of view of culture and tourism. "They will also be plied as inter-city buses," said sources. The state government had allocated over Rs 600 crore for the purchase of buses in the supplementary budget of the last financial year and the budget for 2023-24. Each electric bus will have 51 seats and will be equipped with Vehicle Location Tracking Device (VLTD) and panic buttons for passengers. The buses will be connected to the integrated command control centre of the Corporation. The fare of AC electric buses is at par with the rest of the AC buses run by UPSRTC, while that of the non-AC electric buses will be comparable to the ordinary buses. /IANS