Bengaluru: 3 years on, 50% of promised bus shelters yet to be constructed
The plan to build shelters were mooted three years ago by the civic body. As per the plan, the shelters were to be equipped with signage, route maps and street furniture.
FollowBengaluru: Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) had planned to construct approximately 2,212 bus shelters in Bengaluru, of which only a little over 1,000 are in place. The locations for these shelters were jointly identified by the BBMP and Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL).
The plan to build shelters were mooted three years ago by the civic body. As per the plan, the shelters were to be equipped with signage, route maps and street furniture.
Only a 1,000 out of the 8,000 designated BMTC bus stops have shelters as of now. Reports state that work is in progress at 152 locations. But the construction of approximately 1,000 shelters is still just on paper.
A tender was issued under category A – reserved for SC/ST categories – to build and maintain 563 bus shelters. Reports stated that no agency has responded to the tender. The tender has been reissued for a fourth time now.
Design, build, operate and transfer (DBOT) model has been implemented for the project.
An official said that they are issuing tenders as per government orders, reports said.
According to the list of locations -- to construct bus shelters -- provided by the BBMP, toilet facility can be implemented only in a few of the shelters. Toilet complexes require underground drainage and water connection. These provisions cannot be procured in all locations. This has been cited as the reason for the fewer number of toilet complexes in comparison to the number of bus shelters. Toilet blocks will be available only in 20% of the total number of shelters.
