Mangalore: Too ‘Bus’y Stand at State Bank Cries for Help
By Keshava Murthy N V
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore
Mangalore, Jan 2: Mangalore has been touted as the future mega city, which makes it inevitable to have better infrastructure facilities. But the city’s infrastructure is not yet ready to take the burden of this tag. It is hardly up to the mark and poorly maintained, especially at strategic places in the city. One such place is the private bus stand, popularly known as State Bank.
The bus stand at State Bank area has its own significance as it is located right at the heart of the city and roads of all major parts of the city meet at the stop. But it can hardly be called a boon to the city; rather it is a bane for citizens owing to the reluctance of the administration to listen to the problems faced by commuters at the spot.
The bus stand has a range of problems, from the stinking fish market to the improper parking of private buses. A person with a clear idea of the basic requirements for a place to be called a bus stand can never say it has been a prime bus stand in the city for more than half a century with such poor infrastructure!
The statistics of the Canara Private Bus Owners Association states that the bus stand handles thousands of commuters and about 350 buses everyday, but the infrastructure provided at the bus stand is ill-equipped to handle the pressure. A bus stand must at least have a restaurant and shelter where people can wait till their route buses arrive, but ironically the place provided in the bus stand for the shelter is not in a condition for accommodating more than twenty commuters at a time.
The area provided for the shelter is not more than 300 sq feet putting the two adjoining bus shelters together. Virtually it is impossible to accommodate 100 people in the two shelters at one go, but the administration seems to think that the shelters are sufficient to accommodate any number of commuters.
‘I have been coming to the bus stand for more than 35 years. It is the number of buses that have increased, but not the place that is provided as shelter. This has added to the woes faced by women and children especially during heavy rains,’ a commuter from Urva said while speaking to Daijiworld.
That is not all. Another problem faced by the commuters especially by the senior citizens is the inadequate number of toilets. Though it is not statutory requirement to provide toilets, it is common sense to provide public places with sanitation facilities. Though there are toilets at the area, they are located far off from the bus stand.
Bus stands should have platforms, but the city bus stand has been a unique exception in this regard. The result – people new to the city are left clueless about which bus to get in to. The confused faces of the commuters searching for their buses narrate their troubles.
The great irony is that the private city bus stand and the office of the deputy commissioner are so close to each other that only a couple of minutes separate the two. Now the question arises as to why the district administration has turned a blind eye towards the pathetic condition of the city bus-stand?