Need a ‘Better Bus Shelter’ at ‘Better Spot’ Near St Agnes College

Need a ‘Better Bus Shelter’ at ‘Better Spot’ Near St Agnes College

Need a ‘Better Bus Shelter’ at ‘Better Spot’ Near St Agnes College, Bendore-Mangaluru, and NOT the CRAPPY one that has been constructed at an ODD PLACE where not many are seen using it, as NO BUSES stop in front of it. Why was this new small bus shelter built at this present spot when there was enough place for it in front of the College. This new bus shelter is just for a ‘names sake’, to fool the public, I suppose?

Mangaluru: This report is for the kind attention of Mangaluru City Corporation mayor Kavita Sanil and other concerned authorities, to look into this matter, as to why a small bus shelter is constructed a very odd place, which will never be utilized by the commuters as buses would stop in front of the college as always- and also that an auto-rickshaw stand is completely blocking this new bus shelter. A nice bus shelter did exist for many years, which was once well cleaned and painted neat (see pic) by the volunteers of Ramakrishna Mission ‘Swachh Bharath Campaign’- and a few weeks later it was completely demolished to make way for a new entrance gate of St Agnes Institutions-Mangaluru. Even though a nice gate was constructed and finished long ago, but no one bothered to reconstruct a bus shelter of the same standard until recently after this small bus shelter was built, where till then commuters faced lots of inconveniences/hardships waiting for the buses in the hot sun and heavy rains.

(Bus Shelter – Before)

(Bus Shelter – Present)

Bus Shelter opposite College

One would ask why would anyone built a bus shelter at a spot where buses don’t stop? Why would anyone build a bus shelter right in front of an auto-rickshaw stand? Why would anyone build such a small bus shelter when so many students of St Agnes College and the general public will have to use it and fit in? Why is this bus shelter built without seating facility? Why is this new bus shelter very generic while comparing to the spacious and nice bus shelter opposite on the other side of St Agnes College gate? And there are many more questions pertaining to this. But getting the right answers and rectifying this issue will only benefit the students and commuters, who depend on bus transport.

This story is like demolishing a ‘nice concrete house’ to make way for a new project, and once the project is done, then replacing the original demolished concrete house with a ’tiled roof house”? Similarly is the case here, a nice spacious bus shelter with seating facility was demolished to make way for a college project, and now for names sake and satisfy or probably fool the public, an inferior smaller with no proper facilities bus shelter has been replaced. Bah humbug! Poor planning by the MCC or anyone who behind this initiative- not a “Smart Planning” for a “Smart City”? Simply waste of money on such kind of projects which don’t benefit the citizens.

Added to their credit with this new bus shelter which would be useless, an over enthusiastic MCC and other organizations/associations in the past have gone ahead with random construction of bus shelters, leaving the commuters more confused at some places and have completely ignored certain places. Take this classic example of the lack of planning by these authorities. Taking a ride across the city and little further in the outskirts of the city, I have noticed there are two or three bus-shelters with a scanty population using it for travelling towards their required destinations, and in other places where many commuters really need a bus shelter, there is none. Thousands of commuters have to wait at the bus stops or most of the times on the road itself. This gets worse when it rains or during treacherous summer time.

There is absolutely no planning or policy when it comes to the number of bus shelters to be built at a particular point as some important bus stops in the city, resulting in the bus drivers stopping according to their whims and fancies. In fact, there are no shelters at all in most of the bus stops in the newly added wards. There cannot be a worse hardship, a commuter can face while waiting for a bus for a long time.

I have noticed, It’s very confusing for the people, especially visitors who wait for the bus where there are more bus shelters. They do not know where the bus stops. In such cases, they might also miss the bus and not reach their work place or destination in time. Chances are that when the people are waiting for the bus in a bus shelter, the bus might stop ahead in the next shelter. Also, if the same route bus numbers are plying at a particular time, the buses won’t even stop, unless there are commuters alighting in that destination. There is no proper display of route numbers on the bus shelters either. Seems like there is a lot of disarray in the construction of more than one shelter at a particular stop between the planners.

In conclusion, all I have to say is that having this new bus shelter near St Agnes College-Bendore is definitely confusing to the commuters as the buses might/will stop at their previous spots. Also when there is a bus shelter where commuters are not using it (like this bus shelter will be), chances are that it will be used for illegal activities, also four-legged animals like stray dogs and cows will use it for their shelter. Better late than never-this newly done bus shelter should be moved closer to the college gate, where there is enough empty space which will be convenient and useful for the students and the general public or the concerned authorities should educate or strictly urge the bus drivers to stop in front of this new bus shelter. But on the other hand, getting the auto drivers to vacate from their original spot will be a Herculean task. Oh well- let’s wait and see, what action will the MCC take for the convenience of the commuters relying on public transport?