BHUBANESWAR : In a major boost to state’s transport infrastructure, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik inaugurated the much-awaited Dr Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar Bus Terminal (BSABT) at Baramunda here on Friday.
The chief minister termed the swanky facility as a befitting tribute from people of Odisha to Babasaheb, the father of the Indian Constitution, on 75 years of the nation’s Independence. Unveiling the state-of-the-art bus terminal constructed over 17.32 acre land at an investment of over Rs 200 crore, Naveen said it will provide better services to the passengers and counted as one of the important landmarks of the state capital. It will also create a new identity for Odisha.
He further said Odisha government has named the new bus terminal after Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar in recognition of his contribution to the nation. “A gallery based on Babasaheb’s life and ideals has been set up in the bus terminal to make people aware of his contribution to the nation,” he said. The chief minister on the occasion, also launched the official website of BSABT.
The chief minister’s office said Naveen had ordered transformation of the Baramunda bus stand into an ISBT to address inconvenience faced by the passengers. The modern bus terminal has been developed under direct supervision of 5T chairman VK Pandian. From beginning of the project till its completion, Pandian visited the construction site several times and reviewed progress of the work, officials said.
Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) that implemented the project through Bridge and Roof Company (India) Limited as the contract partner completed the project in around three-and-a-half years after the work was initially hampered for months in 2019-20 and 2020-2021 owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.
BDA authorities said the terminal has 44 active bus bays as well as six bays for city bus service and 111 for idle parking. It will facilitate transportation of at least 800 buses and 30,000 passengers on a daily basis.
The new bus terminal building spread over 28,124.56 sq metre, is spread across three floors and offers a range of passenger amenities including a state-of-the-art Aahaar centre, food court, multi-storey car parking, pick-up/drop-off facility, dormitory for passengers, drink from tap, secured cloak room, prepaid auto service, ATM, baby feeding room and children’s play area.
It also has a wellness centre, police outpost, control command centre, OTDC travel kiosk, adequate toilet facility, ramp facility, solar panel system and sewage treatment plant. The entire terminal building is centrally air-conditioned and has five lifts and two escalators for the users. The terminal has 120 CCTVs for monitoring and surveillance. Bus tracking and monitoring at the bust terminal will be done with the help of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology.