Special Correspondent

KOCHI

The inordinate delay in relocating the Ernakulam KSRTC bus stand to the adjacent Karikkamury and the looming uncertainty about its funding have irked employees and passengers, who decry the deteriorating condition of the ill-maintained bus stand complex, crew rest rooms and its notoriously unclean and stenchy premises.

Sources in the KSRTC said a plan to demolish the bus-stand building and the adjacent building which has a rest room for bus crew, and to construct a bus stand cum commercial complex in its place, dated back to over a decade. After years of inaction, it was decided in 2020 to relocate the bus terminal to Karikkamuri and to build a multi-storied commercial structure in the place of the decrepit structures at the bus stand. But firm decision, followed by tangible measures to ready a modern bus stand complex, remain elusive, they said.

CSML funding

Stating that the project’s Detailed Project Report was under preparation, the CMD of KSRTC, Biju Prabhakar, said it was hoped the project would attain pace in tandem with a comprehensive mobility plan being readied in the city. “We hope to get part funding from Cochin Smart Mission Limited (CSML), since the proposed bus terminal will have connectivity with Ernakulam Junction and Ernakulam Town railway stations (through a Green Corridor that has been envisaged to link the two railway stations).”

This ought to be seen in tandem with efforts under way to reroute long-distance buses that now call at the Ernakulam bus stand, through Vyttila Mobility Hub located beside NH Bypass. As per the plan, feeder services will provide connectivity between the hub and the bus stand. This will be a precursor to the Bypass Rider service that has been mooted, he said.

This is expected to lessen commuting time of long-distance travellers by an hour.

While stating that CSML was willing to part-fund the bus stand project, sources in the agency said the approval of its director board was awaited for the proposal. “The CSML has ₹166 crore of unspent funds, since plans for a sewage treatment plant (STP) proposed in West Kochi was dropped following opposition from a section of residents. The quantum of funds that can be set apart for the proposed bus terminal ought to be decided at the upcoming board meeting in mid-April,” they said.