File picture of chief minister Tarun Gogoi inaugurating the Rupnath Brahma bus terminus at Betkuchi

March 6: More than a year after its inauguration, Dispur has finally initiated a move to make the Rupnath Brahma Inter-State Bus Terminus (ISBT) at Betkuchi operational. The move is expected to contribute substantially towards easing traffic congestion in the city.

An official source said the government has decided not to wait till the completion of the flyover in front of the Rupnath Brahma terminus being constructed by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and decided to make the bus terminus operational from April 1.

The Kamrup (metro) district administration today issued a notification that no long distance bus would be allowed to operate from within the city with effect from April 1. It has asked the bus owners and operators to shift their operations to the ISBT along National Highway 37 bypass. For further details, the district administration has asked bus owners and the operators as well as the general public to contact transport commissioner B. Basumatary.

“The NHAI had informed us that their Betkuchi flyover will be complete by March 31 and hence we had fixed the April 1 date. But the progress of the flyover is slow and it is unlikely to meet the deadline. The government has decided not to wait till completion of the flyover as nearly one year has passed since the inauguration of the bus terminus by the chief minister on December 8, 2006,” the source said.

Today’s notice by the district administration is comes after the chief minister issued a directive to start the operation of the bus terminus without any further delay.

“The NHAI has been asked to do the necessary repairs on the stretch of the highway which would serve as the entry and exit points to the bus terminus so that it can function immediately. The district administration has also written to transport commissioner Basumatary to start a shuttle service from the city to Betkuchi. This service would ferry the passengers to and from the terminus. All long distance buses, including the inter-state services, will terminate at the Rupnath Brahma bus terminus from next month,” he said.

According to the NHAI, the flyover at Betkuchi has been delayed by a few months because certain alterations had to be made in its original design. “The substructure of the flyover is complete. The work on the superstructure is likely to be completed by June this year after which it can be opened for vehicular traffic,” a NHAI source said. The two-lane flyover will help in smooth movement of the traffic to and from the terminus without putting a strain on the traffic on the highway. Moreover, the Rupnath Brahma bus terminus is also expected to ease congestion at Paltan Bazar.