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Ludhiana bus stand scores low on sanitation sans basic amenities
Ludhiana bus stand can hardly be termed commuter friendly as it lacks basic amenities such as drinking water facilities and clean washrooms
Ranked among the state’s busiest, the Ludhiana bus stand can hardly be termed commuter friendly as it lacks basic amenities such as drinking water facilities and clean washrooms.
Commuters are routinely greeted by litter spread across platforms, leaking sewage and filthy floors; and even after parking their vehicles, they are forced to cross a murky layer of sewage collected in the bus stand’s parking lot due to the leaking pipes.
Due to the lack of proper maintenance, the infrastructure lies in shambles, with the road for the exit of buses marred by deep potholes. A number of buses are cleaned and washed inside the bus stand, which creates pools of stagnant water and trash in the middle of the bus stand. Despite the ban, several hawkers and vendors have also encroached on the different corners of the facility.
Notably, the Amar Shaheed Sukdev Interstate Bus Terminal sees a daily footfall of over 30,000 people with an average of 800 buses coming from and going to different districts of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal.
Shivraj Singh, a resident of Delhi, said, “I generally travel via train but this time I decided to take a bus and it is appalling to see the pitiable conditions of the bus stand of the state’s industrial hub; it leaves a very bad impression on people who visit from other places.”
He said, “As the water filter lies broken, people drinking water from taps can cause serious illness.”
Sukhwinder Kaur, a resident of Basti Jodhewal, said, “I saw a number of people smoking inside the bus stand, not a single officer from the bus stand authorities was there to watch over the place.” She said the washrooms lie in a dilapidated state.
Staff crunch
A cleaning staff member who did not wish to be named said, “Before Covid, there used to be over 25 staffers at the bus stand for maintaining cleanliness here, now there are only ten workers, which is severely short on the requirements, with this strength it is not possible to maintain the cleanliness regularly.”
He said that it has been over a year since the water storage tanks were last cleaned.
Shamsher Singh, who works as a conductor, said, “The restrooms provided to the drivers and conductors are sans any facility. After travelling for long hours we clean the rooms by ourselves as there is no regular staff.” He said that because of the lack of maintenance and services at the bus stand people are opting for other modes of transportation.
General manager, Punjab Roadways, Navraj Batish said, “The roadways had taken over the management of the bus stand after the contract with the previous contractor had been cancelled. There is shortage of staff at present, but we are trying to provide best facilities to passengers. Soon, the tender for the management of the bus stand will be issued.”
