Bahadurgarh to have new bus stand soon

Ravinder Saini

The long wait for a new bus stand at Bahadurgarh city in Jhajjar district is going to end soon. The ongoing construction work on the bus stand on the Sector 9 bypass is in the last stage and it is likely to start functioning in October. The old bus stand located in the heart of Bahadurgarh city will be shifted there. 

It will ease traffic congestion in the city and travellers of Metro train will get the vehicle parking facility at the Bahadurgarh city station in place of the old bus stand. A considerable number of people from the city and nearby areas catch the Metro train from the Bahadurgarh city station to go to Delhi.

The foundation stone of the new bus stand was laid by former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda days before the model code of conduct for the 2014 Assembly elections came into force but its construction work started more than three years hence. Local BJP leaders blame the previous Congress government for not sanctioning a budget and fulfilling other essential requirements for the project.

“Former Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda laid the foundation stone of the new bus stand just to get political mileage in the 2014 Assembly elections. Neither a budget was sanctioned nor the process for mandatory approvals for the project was initiated before laying the foundation stone. Even no tender was floated. Our government not only sanctioned a budget but also fulfilled all other formalities required for the construction of the new bus stand,” says Naresh Kaushik, BJP MLA from Bahadurgarh.

Kaushik says that the state government took the project seriously and made persistent efforts to meet the deadline. The new bus stand will be functional in October. Ravi Khatri, Congress leader and former chairperson of Bahadurgarh Municipal Council (BMC), claims that it was the project of the previous Congress government and all formalities required to execute it were completed before former Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda laid its foundation stone. 

KS Pathania, Executive Engineer, Public Works Department, says that only 15 per cent construction work of the new bus stand is remaining and it will be done within next three months. 

“The bus stand building being developed in 60,000 square feet will cost Rs 12.5 crore. It will have the facility of a dormitory for Haryana Roadways drivers and conductors at the first floor. An escalator will also be provided on the bus stand premises to facilitate elderly and physically challenged people,” says Pathania. 

Local residents are eagerly waiting for the shifting of the old bus stand to the new site to get rid of traffic jams on main roads. “The movement of roadways buses is one of the main reasons for traffic jams in Bahadurgarh city. Traffic congestion in the city will reduce drastically after the new bus stand starts functioning. Hence, we are eagerly waiting for the shifting of the old bus stand to get rid of traffic congestion,” says Sushil Agarwal, a local resident. 

Parveen, another resident, says that the shifting of the old bus stand outside the city will definitely resolve the problem of traffic jams to a large extent but city residents living near the old bus stand will have to spend extra on transportation to reach the new bus stand. 

Sanctioned budget

Former Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda laid the foundation stone of the new bus stand to get political mileage in the 2014 Assembly elections. Neither a budget was sanctioned nor the process for mandatory approvals for the project was initiated. Our government not only sanctioned a budget but also fulfilled all other formalities required for the construction of the new bus stand. —Naresh Kaushik, Bahadurgarh MLA