The Gudalur bus stand, is to be finally be expanded and renovated at a cost of Rs. 4.5 crore, officials confirmed.
Speaking to The Hindu, top officials from the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) and the Gudalur municipality said that the present 50 acre bus stand serves as both a bus terminus and also a bus depot. The facility needed a face-lift and expansion urgently for the last few years due to the increase in the number of buses plying to the town.
“The present facility is split into two halves, with one half being used as a bus terminus and the other being used as a depot,” said a TNSTC official. The new plans, pending town planning approval, aims at moving the bus depot to a plot of land, around an acre in total area, below the existing bus stand.
“The existing bus stand will also be extended, from around 50 cents to around 80 cents, which means that where only six buses could find space to be stopped at the bus terminus at any particular time, there will now be space for between 12-15 buses,” said the official.
The municipal administration is to undertake the construction of the facility before it is handed over to the TNSTC. “We expect the work to commence in around two month’s time,” added an official.
S. Sivasubramaniam, general secretary of the Gudalur Consumer Protection Association, welcomed the news of the bus stand’s expansion and modernization. “The Gudalur bus stand has been in need of urgent expansion for many years. During peak hours, traffic essentially comes to a standstill within the town, caused in part due to the bus stand being too small to accommodate more than a few buses at a particular times. We urge the authorities to expedite the construction of the bus stand, so that it can be ready by the summer tourist season in 2021,” said Mr. Sivasubramaniam.