Bus shelters need immediate uplift, The Telegraph finds out what the administration is doing to revamp them

KESHARI TALKIES SQUARE

Located on Sachivalaya Marg, people travelling to places such as airport, railway station and market building wait for buses here. The benches at the shelter are broken and the entire structure is crumbling. 
Plans: Tender has been floated to select a consultant to revamp the 
bus shelter. The present iron frame will be replaced with stainless steel frames. The benches will also be made of steel to avoid rusting.
Citizenspeak: It is very difficult to wait at the bus shelter and there is no other proper place to sit. Only a handful of shelters are in a good condition
Amiya Mishra, resident of Bhoym Nagar.

HOUSING BOARD SQUARE

Nearly 500m from the Keshari Talkies bus stop, this is an important waiting point. People travel from here to destinations such as Acharya Vihar, Patia and Jagamara. But the broken benches make waiting here a pain. Buses also seldom stop here. 
Plans: The revamp plan includes a steel-frame structure with a map on route information in place. The map will be placed on a glow-sign board to make it visible during night.
Citizenspeak: I prefer buses over autos as they are more affordable and comfortable. But dilapidated shelters make waiting for buses a huge problem
Gitun Mallik, resident of Unit IX

SRIYA TALKIES SQUARE

Situated at town centre district on the Janpath, people take buses from here to travel to several places including railway station, airport and Capital Hospital. Indiscriminate dumping of construction materials and encroachment by the homeless people make the shelter almost inaccessible to commuters.
Plans: Special enforcement drive will be launched to remove the encroachment and regular checks will be in place to stop dumping of construction waste. Digital display board will be put up to provide information about bus timings 
Citizenspeak: Paths along Janpath have been dug up to lay underground cables. This had blocked acess to the bus shelter. 
Dumping of construction material also makes accessibility of the shelter difficult
Pratik Moharana, resident of Kharavela Nagar

LOWER PMG SQUARE

Only a few meters from the state secretariat and Assembly, the bus shelter is located near the dharna site on Mahatma Gandhi Marg. As it lies behind police barricade, accessing it is a problem. The shelter needs urgent repair 
Plans: This bus shelter will be relocated. To ensure sanitation near the bus stop, colour coded waste bins will be placed here. It will also have a bicycle parking facility. 
Citizenspeak: Bus shelters are an integral part of urban transport system. Authorities should improve services at bus shelters to encourage more people use buses
Akankshya Pati, a resident of Unit II

What the mayor says

We are aware of the problems and have floated a tender for selection of a consultant to make user-friendly shelters. We have 100 bus shelters, which will be improved. There is plan to increase the number of shelters to 200 over the next six months
Ananta Narayan Jena, mayor

Text by Sandeep Mishra, Pictures by Ashwinee Pati