‘Parde Ke Piche’? Wait For a BIG SURPRISE when New Bus Shelter Opens at St Agnes College
Mangaluru: When there are quite a few existing bus shelters in the city, which are not being utilized by the commuters other than homeless or stray animals, since they are constructed in spots where the buses don’t stop- and now that Mangaluru City Corporation has begun constructing nine bus shelters in the city under Smart City mission, among which one is getting ready near St Agnes College, Bendore, Mangaluru . They are part of the 46 proposed to be constructed in the city under the mission, according to Mohammed Nazir, managing director, Mangaluru Smart City Ltd., a special purpose vehicle, a company floated for implementing the projects under the mission.
But surprisingly why is this Smart City Bus Shelter being constructed behind green curtains, is something very fishy, whereas similar smart city bus shelters are constructed without any protection. You know why- the concerned authorities want to take citizens of Mangaluru by surprise. As planned by MCC the smart city bus shelter suppose to come up near St Agnes College should be of Type A comprising of an e-toilet and should be 13.5 m long. But looking at the project going ahead behind the Parde/Curtain, the size of the bus shelter seems to be small, and very much doubtful that an e-toilet will be built. And most interestingly, once the bus shelter is ready to be used, there would hardly be any commuters using it since it is constructed at an odd place. Trust me, this project will be a sheer waste of taxpayers money.
As mentioned earlier regarding these smart city bus shelters, the shelters would be of three types-Type A would have an e-toilet and would be 13.5 m long. Type B would have no e-toilet and they would be 11.5 m long. Type C also would have no e-toilet and their length would be 8.5 m. All shelters would have a common width of 2.4 m. In addition, all of them would have an interactive display and real-time indicator in common, as per Nazir, who is also the Commissioner of Mangaluru City Corporation, mentioning that of the nine shelters, A type shelters would come up in front of St. Agnes College and near Hotel Lalith International in Surathkal. B type shelters would be built at Kavoor Junction, Mullakadu, Mannagudda Gurji Centre, Panjimogaru-Vidyanagar Cross, near Bharat Mall and at KIADB Baikampady Industrial Area. A C type shelter would come up at Paldane.
Well said by the MCC commissioner, but looking at bus shelter that is coming up at St Agnes college, it surely doesn’t fit in the Type A category. But why? What was the reason to change Type A to Type B, when there was enough space to build the former? Is it because the Bus Shelter would block the view of the Centenary logo of the institution or??. I am very much positive about it- a logo/sign of an institution is much more important than a shelter, which is very much needed by the commuters. And with thousands of college students at this institution, having such a smaller size bus shelter is just a joke.
Team Mangalorean spoke to few of the commuters who at present are waiting for their respective buses in the sun without a bus shelter- Nazeema and Shirley-degree students of St Agnes College speaking to Team Mangalorean said, “It is a very bad spot. Who will walk a distance to use the new bus shelter, when we can wait near the college gate, and buses will stop right here. Bad planning and waste of money”. Rajesh, a bank employee who takes a bus from Bendore said, “Why would anyone build a bus shelter at a place not convenient, and I bet no buses will stop there. This new bus shelter built at the present location will see no people using it because it is not the right place. Simply a waste of money”.
Elderly couple Joseph and Shirley, who have been using the earlier bus stand for decades said, “We have been living in this area for over 40 years, and the old bus stand was very comfortable and very convenient. Why would anyone demolish a bus shelter for the development work of the institution, and never replace it at the same place? This new bus shelter will never serve the purpose. It is built at a location just to compromise with the institution. Period”.
Well said by the responsible citizens of Mangaluru- who feel the brunt of their hard earned money spent on projects like this bus shelter which never serves the purpose. Does anyone care at the MCC about this unplanned project- I guess not, because the cost of the project is not their money, unfortunately, it belongs to the taxpayers Oh well! Let’s just wait and see how many commuters will use the new bus shelter once it is Open. I bet not many or maybe NO ONE, except stray animals and beggars!
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