BALASORE: City bus services for the coastal district is yet to get off the ground with the administration failing to identify land for bus terminal.
On May 6, the State Government had decided to extend city bus service under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) to Balasore and Maoist-infested Koraput districts.
The decision to introduce a fleet of 94 new buses was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by the Development Commissioner. While 54 buses were to be pressed into service on Balasore-Bhadrak route, 40 buses were to run between Koraput and Jeypore towns.
However, the callous attitude of the district administration has led to the delay in operation of the bus services. Social activist Dilip Parida said it is unfortunate that when hundreds of acres of Government land have been encroached by influential people, the administration is unable to find a suitable place for bus terminal.
Effective public transport is the need of the hour for Balasore town which is growing at a rapid pace.
“The available public transport vehicles offer poor service and lack proper facilities. The existing communication facilities are inadequate, inefficient, irregular and ill managed. The poor quality of services leads to higher use of personal vehicles causing congestion on roads and rise in pollution,” Parida pointed out.
Sources said though town bus service was introduced a few years back, it hardly caters to the need of the people. The administration needs to prepare a road map for the proposed bus service on a war-footing as it will come as a relief for the public.
Balasore Municipality Chairman Alok Sahu said the administration has been asked to provide at least three to four acres of land for the bus stand and workshop. “But the land is yet to be identified,” he added.
Chairman of Balasore Regional Improvement Trust (BRIT) Gouri Kumar Rout said though a patch of land in Ganeswarpur area has been proposed to the Urban Development officials, they are yet to respond. “We have agreed to provide them three acres of land, against premium, out of eight acres which were earmarked for a larger bus terminal. Their response is yet to come,” he said.
The district administration, however, said process is on to locate a suitable land for the purpose. In-charge Collector Akshay Kumar Mohanty said Balasore and Remuna Tehsildars have been asked to identify the land. We would send land details to the department concerned soon,” he assured.
Delay and Inconvenience