Udupi still waiting for a KSRTC bus-stand

Bellevision Media Network

• It functions from a small complex build by the CMC

• 200 KSRTC buses arrive and leave the town daily

• A bus-stand will be built at a cost of Rs. 20 crore

Udupi, 14 April 2011: Though Udupi became a district headquarters 14 years ago, it still does not have a Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus-stand.

As many as 200 buses arrive and leave the temple town daily. The KSRTC bus-stand functions from a small complex constructed by the Udupi City Municipal Council (CMC) under the Karnataka Urban Development and Coastal Environment Project (KUDCEMP).

But it has space only for a few buses. Besides, KSRTC buses have to jostle for space with private buses. The KSRTC pays a rent of Rs. 2 a bus to the CMC. There is no adequate seating arrangement for passengers in this bus-stand. There is no restroom for KSRTC crew. A small one-room office is at the KUDCEMP bus-stand. This office also serves as a reservation counter.

 

 

A KSRTC official said that drivers and conductors slept in the same room. “Though we collect lakhs of rupees at the reservation counter, there is hardly any security there,” he added.

The KSRTC has no depot in Udupi either. Because of this, buses are found parked near the Inspection Bungalow or Ajjarkad.

The official said there was no parking facility for two Bangalore-Udupi buses and one Udupi-Mysore bus. Hence, they were being parked near the Inspection Bungalow. “A bus-stand and depot is a must here,” he added.

The government’s plan to build a bus-stand on three acres of land at Bannanje is yet to be implemented.

Raghupati Bhat, MLA, said that the land at Bannanje was under the Public Works Department. A note had been sent to the State Cabinet to take steps to transfer this land to the KSRTC. “The land transfer process may take a month. A bus-stand will be built at a cost of Rs. 20 crore. A 3.5-acre plot has been identified for a depot at Kodankur,” Mr. Bhat said.

- The Hindu