Bhubaneswar: The Union ministry of road transport and highways has asked the Odisha State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC) to undertake cleanliness drive every fortnight from January 15 with special focus on bus terminals here.

However, the ground reality is that the transport corporation has ignored the direction. The bus terminals here have heaps of garbage and the places stink. The situation is worse at Baramunda bus terminal, old city bus stand at Unit I and the city bus depot at Master Canteen Square.

At Baramunda, the lack of adequate waste bins has left the place in a mess. As the place is not swept regularly and garbage not cleared everyday, the situation looks similar to the city bus depot at Master Canteen Square where drains overflows with wastewater rendering the terminal unhygienic.

"There should be sincere efforts to ensure cleanliness at such high footfall places, but it seems that the administration is not much bothered. These places also do not have proper toilets. Overflowing drains has made things unbearable for the people," said Kamal Hota, a passenger at Baramunda. Officials of the transport corporation claimed that they were going to collaborate with Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation to take up adequate cleanliness measures at the bus terminals in the city. The corporation, however, has claimed that they were doing their job regularly.

"We have received the letter from the Centre. We got it on January 16 and are preparing plans to conduct fortnightly cleanliness drive at bus stations. We will need the help of the civic body for the purpose. We will reach out to them," said an official of the OSRTC.

Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena said they had put bus and the railway stations on their priority list. "Our officials are conducting regular sweeping at bus terminals. People are also being sensitised about maintaining cleanliness. We will extend our help to the transport authorities in their efforts," said Jena.