MALKANGIRI: Motu, infamous as the Maoist hotbed of Malkangiri, will get a fully air-conditioned bus stand by March next year. Being constructed over 4,000 sqm by Odisha State Police Housing and Welfare Corporation Limited (OSPHAWCL) at an estimated cost of Rs 2.34 crore, the bus stand will have parking facilities for 18 inter-State and inter-district buses, said Assistant Engineer of OSPHAWCL, Sushant Kumar Sethy.
The waiting hall can accommodate over 100 passengers at a time and it will include dormitory facilities. Work on the project had started this January. However, inter-State bus services depend on the construction of a bridge in Motu which is located at the confluence of rivers Saveri, Sileru and Godavari with Andhra Pradesh on one side and Chhattisgarh and Telangana on the other.
A 290-metre bridge is being constructed by Andhra Pradesh Government under Left Wing Extremism (LWE) scheme to connect Motu with Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh over river Sileru since 2013.
However, the Jeypore NHAI division is yet to begin construction of a road from Odisha side in Motu which will be connected with the bridge from Andhra Pradesh that would facilitate inter-State bus services between Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Chhattisgarh.