Thiruvananthapuram: The Benz luxury coach, which has reportedly cost Rs 1.05 crore, is being used for the travel of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his cabinet colleagues for the month-long Nava Kerala Sadas programme.
The exterior panels of the bus depict paintings featuring various facets of Kerala including the famous houseboats, popular temples, mosques and churches, Chinese fishing nets, and art forms. The 12-metre-long bus has been readied by a Karnataka-based automobile body-building outlet. The special bus has facilities of the scale of caravans used by the lead actors. Of the 25 seats, the one right in the front is a specially designed automatic reclining seat for the chief minister. The bus also has a bio-toilet, fridge, microwave oven, a special dining area and wash basin. There’s a special elevator as well.
At the inaugural event, the chief minister took a dig at journalists who ran stories regarding the 'luxurious’ bus. “I am inviting journalists to enter the bus and join us. You see for yourself the luxurious interiors and decide,” he said.
