Temporary bus shelters imply need for IBT

To ensure hassle-free journey for passengers during festival days, the civic body had been establishing a couple of temporary bus shelters in the city hinting at the space crunch in the central bus stand. The corporation spends lakhs to install such makeshift bus shelters during Pongal and Deepavali festivals, while the demand for the integrated bus terminus as a permanent solution is being overshadowed.

For the past five years, the authorities struggling to manage the recurring snarl-ups at the central bus stand, had been setting up two temporary bus shelters near Williams Road (for Thanjavur and Nagapattinam bound buses) and Mannarpuram (for Pudukkottai and Madurai bound buses) for one week during the festival days.

This time also the civic body has initiated preparation to set up similar facilities to handle the Deepavali rush. However, the residents said that such temporary measures point to the fact that a permanent IBT facility is needed in the city. Sources said that the civic body spends around Rs 2 lakh to Rs 3 lakh for establishing a temporary bus shelter.

"Instead of spending lakhs for establishing and maintaining the temporary shelters, the corporation could invest the money in land for establishing a permanent satellite bus stand," H Ubaidullah, a resident of K K Nagar said. As many as 40,000 passengers visit the temporary shelters which have no proper sanitary complex, parking lots, and cloakrooms. Also sanitary workers have a tough time in cleaning the area as visitors urinate close to the temporary bus shelters and dump plastic and food waste on roads.

Source