Bus Shelter Demolished for Road Widening- Now Commuters Stand Under Scorching Sun
Existing Bus Shelter Demolished for Road Widening Now Commuters forced to Stand Under Scorching Sun, & pretty soon Rain, near Nanthoor
Mangaluru : Though many bus shelters were razed down as part of the road- widening works in the City, authorities are mum on the issue. Even after the road widening work is complete, they don’t have the courtesy to replace the demolished bus shelter with a new one- similar was the case of the bus shelter near St Agnes College, Bendore-Mangaluru, which was knocked down for road widening- and was not replaced back. But after many protests and complaints raised on the same, MCC finally constructed a Smart Bus Shelter, which is not Smart at all? Yet another, bus shelter was knocked down near Gerosa High school for raod widening, but after the road was done, no bus shelter has been put back.
And now we have yet another incident, where a existing bus shelter was removed for road widening near Nanthoor ( on the way from Kadri Road towards Bikarnakatte/KPT) and even though the road widening is completed, the authorities have not reconstructed the bus shelter, thereby leaving the young and the old waiting to catch their bus standing under scorching sun, and pretty soon, when the monsoon starts, they will be soaked in rain water. Is this what Smart city Development is all about- putting the commuters in inconvenience and hardships.
Yes, our city has AC buses going towards Udupi/Manipal, many widened new roads and improved traffic systems. But all is not well for those who wait for public transport in the city. Sun or rain, the commuters have to brave it out as major bus stops here lack bus shelters. Diminishing the importance of pedestrian safety measures and widened roads, people wait on roadsides and footpaths for buses. And hundreds of commuters travelling to their respective destinations are forced to stand under the scorching sun, in quite a few locations in the City, including the one at Nanthoor, in the name of Smart city development, due to non-availability of bus shelters. Repeated requests, citizens say, have fallen on deaf ears.
According to regular commuters near Nanthoor, including students, office goers, laborers and residents of Mangaluru who work in neighbouring places and districts, or return to their homes, earlier they would take shelter under a tree while waiting for buses. However, for the development of the Kadri-Nanthoor road, the trees were chopped off, leaving commuters stranded. Most of the buses from the City going towards Kulshekar/Vamnajoor, Padil, Karkala, Moodbidri, KPT, Panambur and other places make a halt at this bus stop, with hundreds of people using this spot on a daily basis.
Bus Shelters constructed where no Commuters wait for their buses
With a lacking bus shelter, Laveena, a commuter who works at a education institution ( the afternoon shift) in Vamanjoor speaking to Team Mangalorean said, ” I travel between Nanthoor and Vamanjoor on an everyday basis, and there is no fixed point where buses drivers stop, leaving us to run a few metres to board the bus. A shelter is a basic right of a commuter, which we are being denied. Every single day, we have to stand under the blazing sun waiting for our bus. No authorities have come forward to construct a bus shelter so far. Even for Senior citizens staying under hot sun has become a nightmare,”.
According to another commuter, Raghava from Kaikamba, who has appealed to authorities about the non-availability of bus shelters, this issue has been going on for many years. “Earlier, people used to stand under trees but after the development work by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), trees were chopped off and now bus shelters also being demolished, thereby leaving us with no option but to stand on the road side under sun or rain”. But it is learnt that the area corporator has said, “There is a proposal to construct a bus shelter on this stretch. Once the election code of conduct concludes we will take up the work”. But the road widening work was completed well before the election code started- nothing but excuses to save their A@#$?.
Travelling in a City bus in the city may not be a pleasant experience for many. But, it pales in comparison to the inconvenience commuters waiting for buses are subjected to, and more than that waiting for the bus in sun/rain with no bus shelter. Lack of pedestrian access, the need to stand on roads to wait for a bus and high accident risk are some of the problems often cited by passengers. The lack of bus shelter near Nanthoor has added safety concerns to their woes. Where bus shelters are really needed where commuters wait for their buses, there are no bus shelters- but where there are no commuters, bus shelters exist? What a joke and what a waste of tax payers money? The traffic police are supposed to authorize the citing of the shelters based on these guidelines, but this is not followed.
Sources also reveal that the bus shelters can be constructed only after the completion of roads and footpaths. Involvement of various government agencies is needed for the construction of bus shelters. It will take time. Wow- that means, it will take another few months or years before a new bus shelter takes birth at this Nanthoor location. And if no bus shelter comes up before the next MCC elections, don’t vote for the candidate who never took action on this issue- and for putting you in hardship and inconveniences with no bus shelter.