Incessant rain since Wednesday evening has left the private bus terminus here in such a sorry state that the commuters are finding it difficult to board the buses.
Water logging, mud and slush at several places inside the terminus has made it almost impossible for passangers to even go inside.
The residents of the town have been demanding shifting of the bus terminus for quite sometime.
Situated in the heart of the town, it is creating traffic problem. Besides, lack of maintenance has rendered it unhygienic.
Jitendra Mishra, a daily commuter said, “I regularly travel to Saintala for my work there. On Thursday, I could not board the bus as there was water and mud all over the terminus. I had to wait for the bus to come out.”
Moreover, sanitation in the terminus is in a shambles as people urinate and defecate there openly, added Mishra.
Padman Rana, another passenger said, “The passengers waiting for the buses are prone to infections as they are exposed to the rain water mixed with the open urinals and drain water.”
General secretary of Balangir Private Bus Owners’ Association Hemanta Kumar Panda acknowledged the problems faced by the passengers and said the bus owners were ready to move to any alternative place. “We are ready to shift from the existing terminus to any place provided by the district administration,” said Panda.
Although the local administration is constructing a bus terminus at a cost of Rs 25 lakh near the RTO office on the Titlagarh road on the outskirt of the town, it is yet to be completed.