THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The KSRTC and Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation (Supplyco) will open an advanced supermarket at Thampanoor KSRTC Bus Terminal soon. The decision was taken after Food and Civil Supplies Minister G R Anil and Transport Minister Antony Raju visited the area along with transport secretary and KSRTC CMD Biju Prabhakar IAS. The new supermarket will come up at the plot that currently houses the KSRTC zonal executive office, which will be shifted to Pappanamcode.
The project falls under the modernisation plans of the KSRTC department. “The building is now the KSRTC zonal office and resting place for bus crew. The Indian Coffee House on the first floor will be moved to the second floor. An area of 2,500 sqft on the first floor will be allocated to the supermarket after getting sanction from the corporation. The new facility will be very different from the traditional supermarkets and we hope it will attract more passengers to the depot. It will be a good source of income for the KSRTC,” he said.
Thiruvananthapuram regional manager of Supplyco, Jayaprakash V, says the new outlet will be leased from KSRTC. “Some renovation works, including demolition of a wide fence, that hinders the movement towards the building, need to be carried out.
The supermarket will have groceries, fish, meat and poultry products. There will be an online delivery system too as we are going through a pandemic,” added Jayaprakash.
Biju said the outlet will be a convenient shopping centre for commuters boarding buses to and from Thampanoor. “We plan to launch the outlet by August 1, just in time for the Onam festival,” he said.