The Delhi Transport Department is undertaking a decongestion drive at all Inter-State Bus Terminals (ISBTs) in the Capital, according to a senior government official.
The drive includes modifications in access and exit points for inter-State buses, removal of encroachments on roadsides as well as terminal pathways, failing which steep fines will be levied, said the official.
“The drive is ongoing at each of the three ISBTs at Kashmere Gate, Sarai Kale Khan and Anand Vihar. The department aims to ensure that passengers utilising services at these major transit points do not feel inconvenienced and increasingly choose inter-State buses as the preferred mode of travel,” said a source.
Priority areas
Maintenance and cleanliness, according to the source, were also among the priority areas for the department, followed by removal of encroachment.
“Several steps are being taken to ensure maximum comfort for passengers at ISBTs. These include regular cleanliness operations, which are monitored and scrutinised, and beautification of ISBT campuses as well as their immediate vicinity,” the source added.
Fine hiked
The source added that regular flying squads were empowered to issue fines up to ₹5,000 to shopkeepers and operators of vending stalls at ISBTs who were using more space than allowed as per law.
The Delhi Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation (DTIDC) had on Wednesday increased the fine 10 times from ₹500 to ₹5,000 for people encroaching the Capital’s ISBTs following complaints that vendors were illegally occupying ISBT spaces.
In April, the Transport Department had decided to shift the destination stop of buses from Haryana and Rajasthan from the Kashmere Gate ISBT to Sarai Kale Khan in a bid to relatively ease congestion at the former.
An estimated 100 buses for destinations like Jaipur, Ajmer, Bhilwara, Bikaner, Udaipur and Pushkar, which access the Capital through Dhaula Kuan and the National Highway 8, were shifted as part of the plan which, according to the source, will soon be implemented at other ISBTs located in areas with heavy vehicular movement.