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SAD, Congress failed to revive Mohali ISBT: AAP
AAP protests outside Mohali ISBT; says Congress, Akalis and local MLA failed to keep up their promises and did not make efforts to revive this project
Members of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday staged a protest outside the Baba Banda Singh Bahadur Inter-State Bus Terminus (ISBT) promoted as the new bus stand for Mohali. They held parties in the state responsible for allegedly wasting ₹350 crore of public money just to quench their political thirst.
The protest, which was led by AAP activist Vineet Verma, in-charge, Mohali, claimed that the Congress, SAD and the local MLA failed to keep up their promises and did not make efforts to revive this project.
Verma said, “The bus stand built at a cost of ₹350 crore was said to be an air-conditioned bus stand, but surprisingly there is no power connection to his building. The company has already defaulted investors and fled as they have not paid the power bills after which Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) disconnected the power connection. The building is in a poor shape and needs attention.”
“The Congress and SAD governments did not foresee before getting the Phase VIII bus stand demolished by GMADA as now Mohali has no bus stand where people can board buses,” he said.
The AAP leader said, “People are forced to board buses from temporary bus stands made by transporters at their own sweet will.”
Notably, the state-of-the-art Baba Banda Singh Bahadur ISBT in Mohali, an ambitious project of former deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, was inaugurated in 2016 after which it ran into rough weather as the construction-maintenance-operations were deserted by the C&C Company after which investors lodged a complaint with and police and, thereafter, cases were registered against the chairman and the directors under Sections 406, 420 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in August 2018. Thereafter, another FIR was registered in January 2019.
The terminus constructed with a cost of ₹350 crore was to be operated and maintained by C&C Company, but a few months after the inauguration, the company deserted the terminus.
