Panaji KTC bus stand premises in disrepair

NT NETWORK

PANAJI

An inspection of the city KTC bus stand by the district road safety council along with officials from twelve departments on Tuesday revealed that there is no check on food outlets by concerned officials. Also, lives of the passengers are put at risk in the absence of fire fighting and prevention system.

A team of experts which inspected the bus stand found it in a pathetic state and in dire need of attention. They also found that the premises lack hygiene with commuters and traders struggling without any potable water facility.

The team comprised of officials from transport department, health, municipal administration, FDA, fire, legal metrology, KTC, PWD, electricity department, civil supplies, traffic and law and order police.

It was also recommended that the transport and traffic department put up zebra crossings along the bus bays for safe crossing of pedestrians to avoid untoward incidents.

The Kadamba Transport Corporation Ltd (KTCL) which manages the Panaji bus stand has failed in supervising and keeping a check on the maintenance of the bus station.

The KTCL has not created any post of bus stand manager to maintain supervision and maintain records but depot manager does overall supervision though his job is to keep checks on KTC buses to ensure that better services are offered to commuters.

The team found an abandoned rickshaw at the motorcycle taxi stand within the bus stand premises which is used as a storeroom. There were large numbers of two wheelers parked illegally next to Margao-Vasco bus bays occupying large spaces which can be used for sitting and social advertisement display.

The drivers, conductors and motorcycle pilots have complained of improper sheds and sitting

arrangement for them to rest within the bus station. The bus crew members use cement blocks as makeshift arrangement for sitting. It was recommended to remove the blocks and provide benches.

No seating arrangements are made at the bus stand for senior citizens, physically-challenged persons and women who are put to hardship while waiting to board their respective buses.

The shed structure over the bus station is uprooted at many places and its supported iron railing is corroded and slowly losing strength.

The council will now meet every quarterly to review steps taken by each department on implementation of the observation and recommendation made during the site visit.

The drinking water counter at the entry of KTC premises is left abandoned for decades and it was never put to use forcing the commuters and bus crew members to buy packaged drinking water. However, another drinking water facility within the premises was found ill maintained and large boxes of food products and sweets dumped.

There is no maintenance of the bus station as a result one of the shops selling multiple consumer goods at the bus station has kept buckets to hold water dripping out from the floor of the leaked bathroom of KTC rest room for years.

A non-operational coin box phone exists in the premises.

Without a single ramp, the access to the bus station isn’t disabled-friendly. The Mahiti Ghar or information counter which was long shut down was not dismantled and it was recommended to either restore to its original position or restart.