Bhogpur bus station turns into taxi stand

With buses picking up passengers from the main road and taxi operators having encroached upon the space meant for their parking, a whopping `50 lakh spent on the construction of the Bhogpur bus stand over a year ago has gone down the drain, it seems.

With buses picking up passengers from the main road and taxi operators having encroached upon the space meant for their parking, a whopping `50 lakh spent on the construction of the Bhogpur bus stand over a year ago has gone down the drain, it seems.

Buses parked on the main road outside the bus stand cause huge traffic snarls on GT Road. A heavy traffic on this stretch has also turned the area an accident-prone zone. Moreover, the traffic police have failed to tackle the problem even as the city police station is at a stone’s throw from the bus stand.

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The bus stand was constructed on six kanals of land provided by the Bhogpur municipal council 13 months ago. But buses barely enter the bus stand and their drivers prefer to wait for passengers on the main road instead.

Only taxis and auto-rickshaws are seen parked in the bus stand.

Harjinder Singh Minhas, general manager, roadways-1, said, “I will ask the drivers to park roadways buses inside the bus stand only. This is the responsibility of the municipal council and police to take action if buses violate norms.” Sources said MC and police officials fail to take action against bus and taxi drivers due to political pressure, since most of taxis are owned by local politicians.

Raj Kumar, president, Bhogpur municipal council, said, “There is no proper space connecting the main highway with the slip road so that buses could enter the bus stand. The median gap is far away from the stand due to which bus drives prefers to stop their buses outside the bus stand.”