‘World’s largest’ bus depot now in city, courtesy DTC

Thanks to the Commonwealth Games (CWG), the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) may soon find its name in the Guinness Book of Records.

DTC's Millennium Park Bus Depot, which will provide buses to athletes, delegates and mediapersons during the 10-day sporting extravaganza, has come up as the world's largest depot for buses.

Spread over a sprawling 60-acre-plot, along the western banks of the Yamuna, the parking can accommodate 1,000 buses at any given point in time.

The Millennium Park depot has overtaken the Central Bus Station, located in Tel Aviv (Israel), which is spread over 57 acres and can accommodate 800 buses.

Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit inaugurated the Millennium Park bus parking facility and logistics centre on Friday.

Constructed by the Public Works Department (PWD), the Rs. 61-crore bus depot was built in less than a year.

"We got the approval for this parking in four phases, starting September 2009. The last approval came in April 2010. We have spent Rs. 3 crore from the sanctioned amount on construction of this facility," Delhi PWD minister Rajkumar Chauhan said.

The bus depot has five bus parking-cum-scanning centres, eight washing pits, four huge water tanks for washing buses, two separate tanks for fire reserve and drinking water, seven dormitories, where 500 persons can stay and two CNG filling stations.

Delhi police have also set up a cargo scanner and command centre especially for the Commonwealth Games.

"This depot will provide 600 buses during the Games for athletes and delegates. After the Games, it will be used as a normal DTC bus depot," Delhi transport minister Arvinder Singh Lovely said.