KOLLAM: Various associations of the private bus operators said that they would stop services in the city for an indefinite period unless the bus stand at the Chinnakkada Clock Tower is restored.
The Coordination Committee of the Vyapari-Vyavasayi and Bus Operators has decided to launch agitations on the issue. To begin with, a mass dharna of the merchants and bus operators will be held at the Press Club Maidan on June 10.
Coordination committee chairman Lawrence Babu and general convener K.Ramabhadran said here on Monday that the merchants, bus operators and the public were suffering a lot because of the dismantling of the shelters near the Clock Tower and the shifting of the Chinnakkada bus stand to Andamukkam.
The bus stand was shifted six months ago to construct a subway there. Though six months had passed, the construction work is ye to begin. The City Corporation authorities had claimed that the bus stand was shifted following the decision of the District Traffic Advisory Committee.
However, the Corporation authorities failed to sign an agreement with the Railway authorities for the transfer of the land required for the subway.
The merchants in the Clock Tower area had lost their business as the area was closed.
The bus operators find it difficult to load and unload the passengers as there is no sufficient space at Chinnakkada for the same. The passengers are suffering a lot as there are no shelters for them.
With the reopening of the schools and colleges the situation further worsened, they said. Kollam District Vyapari-Vyavasayi Ekopana Samithi president G.Gopakumar, Kollam District Private Bus Owners and Operators Federation president M.D.Ravi and Kollam District Private Bus Operators Welfare Association president K.S.Brahmadas were also present at the press conference.