E-Paper
Mohali to get new bus stand near Sohana gurdwara on Airport Road
Punjab CM tells GMADA to finalise site on Airport Road; it will give easy access to commuters using proposed city bus service in Mohali
Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi has directed the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) to finalise a site for a new bus stand near Gurdwara Singh Shaheedan in Sohana. Around four acres of land is lying vacant near the gurdwara along the Airport Road.
The directions were given in a meeting chaired by the CM recently. MLA Balbir Singh Sidhu and GMADA chief administrator Vipul Ujwal attended it along with other senior officials.
Mohali already has the region’s first air-conditioned Inter-State Bus Terminus (ISBT) along the Chandigarh-Kharar highway in Phase 6, Mohali, which also houses a commercial complex. Twelve years after its inception, the bus terminal has become partially operational, but the commercial project is stuck in corporate insolvency resolution process.
The demand for a new bus stand within the city was made by Sidhu, following which the CM directed GMADA to finalise the site, said a senior officer who was present in the meeting.
‘Will finalise site in first week of December’
“We are hopeful of finalising the site in the first week of December. One chunk of land of nearly 4 acres is lying vacant near the gurdwara in Sohana. As land rates are very high on the Airport Road, we are planning for mixed land use, wherein we can have the bus stand in the basement and commercial activities on the ground floor to compensate for the high land cost,” said the GMADA officer, who did not wish to be named.
As far as the existing ISBT is concerned, GMADA has shown interest in taking over the project. In 2019, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT)’s special bench had initiated corporate insolvency resolution process for C&C Towers Limited, which was allotted the project in 2009.
Once GMADA takes over the project, it will also take over all liabilities of stakeholders, investors and depositors and will run all activities of the commercial complex, except the operations of ISBT, which will be transferred to the Punjab state transport department, according to the officer.
‘ISBT too far off for local commuters’
Meanwhile, Balbir Singh Sidhu said that as the Mohali municipal corporation is set to launch a city bus service, a bus stand is needed in the centre of the city.
“As the new bus stand will be on the Airport Road, it will be convenient for local commuters. The present bus stand is out of bounds for city residents, as they have to pay around ₹200 for commute,” he said.
The Mohali MC General House had approved the agenda pertaining to the city bus service earlier this month. The service is expected to be rolled out from January 1, with an initial fleet of six buses on eight routes within the MC limits. The project had been hanging fire for a decade.
However, questions have been raised on the proposal to build a bus stand on the busy Airport Road, especially at the congested site near the gurdwara. According to sources, even buses plying to other parts of Punjab will use the new bus stand.
Harpreet Singh, a member of the district road safety committee, said: “Airport Road is the busiest road and prone to accidents. The authorities concerned should be very cautious in adding more heavy traffic volume on this road. The road safety issue should be taken into consideration before planning a new bus stand.”
Meanwhile, sources said that the CM has also asked GMADA to construct an auditorium on the lines of Chandigarh’s Tagore Theatre in Sector 78 and a new Dussehra ground in Sector 90.
