The new bus terminus at Betkuchi. File picture

July 8: All long-distance buses will be finally shifted from Paltan Bazar to the Inter-State Bus Terminus (ISBT) at Betkuchi on the outskirts of the city from July 15.

This was decided today at a meeting held at Dispur, chaired by additional chief secretary Alok Perti and attended by top officials of the district administration, transport, police and public works departments.

A source said the ISBT would be made fully functional on July 15 with 700 intra-state buses being shifted to the new terminus from the Paltan Bazar area.

“From July 15 onwards, no long-distance bus will be allowed to enter the inner cordon of the city, which decongests the arterial roads of the city considerably,” the source said.

In the first phase, nearly 300 inter-states buses were shifted to the ISBT from Paltan Bazar in April.

The meeting decided to evolve a comprehensive strategy by involving all the agencies so that the passengers are not inconvenienced in reaching the ISBT after the second phase of shifting.

“The Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC) has been asked to run a shuttle bus service between important locations in the city and the ISBT. The enforcement wing of the transport department and traffic police will have to ensure that no long-distance buses enter Paltan Bazar,” the source said.

The Kamrup (metro) district administration will issue necessary orders directing intra-state buses to shift to the ISBT.

Kamrup (metro) deputy commissioner Prateek Hajela and managing director of ASTC K.N. Chetia were present at the meeting.

“The high-level meeting also decided to give adequate publicity about the shifting of the buses from July 15 to avoid any confusion among the public or bus operators,” the source said.

Since these 700 buses will not enter the arterial roads of the city and be diverted to the ISBT from the Khanapara point through the bypass of the National Highway-37, it will reduce the volume of traffic on GS Road.

The weaving movement of buses exiting and entering the bus depots in the Paltan Bazar area during morning and evening hours creates bumper-to-bumper traffic snarls along that stretch of GS Road.

Because of its proximity to the Guwahati railway station, over the years Paltan Bazar has grown into the originating point for intra-state and inter-state buses.

Facing a daily rush of traffic, residents of Paltan Bazar have been demanding that the terminus be shifted.