Satyanagar

Kalpana Square

Indira Gandhi Park

Seats have either been broken or completely uprooted in most of the bus stops. While at some places the bus stops are used to store goods temporarily, at others the lights have become defunct adding to the woes of commuters. Pictures by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Oct. 19: The poor condition of passenger shelters along the city bus routes in the capital has added to the problems of commuters.

Most of these sheltered bus stops need urgent renovation. Some even turn into the dens of criminals after dark.

Hundreds of commuters use these bus stops daily. The grim reality is that there has been no effort on part of the authorities concerned either to renovate or repair the bus stops. This has angered the local residents who feel this apathetic attitude has compounded their woes.

In most of the bus stops, hardly any of the fixed chairs have been left intact. While they are broken in some, they have been stolen in others. This forces the commuters to stand for hours during rains or sweltering heat while waiting for buses. This troubles the elderly and children the most.

“Commuters need a place where they can wait for buses during extreme weather conditions. Many sheds do not have sitting facilities,” said Laxmidhar Behera, a commuter who was waiting to catch a bus at CRP square. He requested the authorities to build concrete chairs so that the chances of theft can be reduced.

At some places the bus stops look like cattle sheds. They are so dilapidated that only stray dogs and cattle venture into these structures. Some of the sheds have defunct lighting system adding to the agony of the commuters. At some places like PMG square the bus stops are lying absolutely defunct. Some have even been converted into temporary godowns.

The bus stops were built by the Bhubaneswar Municipality Corporation (BMC) in public-private-partnership mode few years ago. Private companies have paid for these sheds where they display their advertisements. However, bereft of any maintenance, the sheds are now only acting as display boards. There are around 50 such bus stops in the city.

The primary purpose of picking up the passengers from the bus stops is lost because of all this. Without proper bus stops, town buses pick up passengers from anywhere.

“The authorities must take measures to renovate the bus stops. The y are lying in a dilapidated condition. The traffic is also getting chaotic with each passing day, so there should be proper bus stops for the comfort of commuters,” said Arya Nanda, a student.

Similarly, the private operator of city bus service is also facing difficulties due to faulty planning of the bus stops.

“Most of these bus stops are unused as they do not come in the stoppage way,” said Nishikant Mishra, chairman of Dream Team Sahara, the private operator of city bus service.

Commuters from outside the state are also facing difficulties as buses do not stop at most of the bus stops. “Yesterday I waited for over half-an-hour at the bus stop near Saheed Nagar, but did not get any city bus,” said Anurag Biwal, a resident of Rajasthan, who is on visit to Orissa.

BMC sources said they would conduct a survey of existing bus stops and start the maintenance work.

City mayor Ananta Narayan Jena said he was aware of the problem. “We had a discussion and proper measures would be taken to renovate the bus stops,” he said.