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Bijendra Ahlawat
For the past several decades, the Haryana Roadways bus stand at NIT area in Faridabad is in a pathetic condition and the revival project announced in 2014 is yet to see the light of day.
The delay has hit commuters hard, who fail to get facilities and requisite services. The bus stand was constructed way back in 1986 and thousands of commuters travel to their respective destinations from here.
“Though the Transport Department operates another bus stand at Ballabgarh town, adjacent to the National Highway, this bus stand (NIT) is a crucial connecting point to a large number of commuters, who reside in the NIT area of the city,” says Yogesh Dhingra, a former employee of the Municipal Corporation, Faridabad (MCF). “The condition of the bus stand has turned worse, as no work has been taken to improve facilities or services here, despite the fact that hundreds of commuters use it to travel to other places daily,” he said.
“One can imagine the state of affairs by having a look at the toilets here, which are lying unused while commuters have to run helter-skelter to relieve themselves,” claims Mansi, a local resident.
“Hygiene conscious people tend to avoid using drinking water from the cooler provided here as one isn’t sure whether it has been cleaned or not,” she adds.
In June 2014, Aftab Ahmed, the then Transport Minister, had laid the foundation stone of the revival of the project, but the work reportedly got stalled as the new government came to power in October 2014.
Anti-social elements move around the bus stand after dusk and there is no guard deployed here and this has resulted in damage to property. Some items have even been stolen.
The building, too, wears a dilapidated look with the wall plaster peeling off easily. The cemented benches in the waiting area are also damaged partially. The ticket counter and the toilet door is lying broken, forcing commuters to use Sulabh toilets located outside the bus stand premises. The premise turns into a cesspool after a short spell of rain leaving passengers to wade through water while alighting from the buses. According to a staff member, over a dozen buses operate to Delhi, Gurugram, UP, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan on a daily basis from here.
It is said the proposal of the revival or renovation has been hanging fire due to the plan to hand over this bus stand to private operators a couple of years ago by the present state government, but that, too, is yet to see the light of day. “The poor condition has been due to the privatisation policy of the state government,” said Ramashray Prasad Singh of the Haryana Roadways Workers’ Union.
Bharat Bhushan Gogia, GM, Haryana Roadways, said he would be able to comment after going through the papers on this issue. Gogia took over the charge recently.
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