Kozhikode: The KSRTC bus terminal here, which was constructed violating all norms, is ‘carcinogenic,’ says the KSRTC employees who alleged that the bus bay sans sufficient ventilation will cause serious ailments to the employees who are exposed to the polluted working environment with high rate of toxic carbon monoxide emanating from hundreds of buses in the bus bay.
Citing various discomforts faced by the staff in the bus terminal, the employees under the auspices of Kerala State Road Transport Employees' Association (KSRTEA) affiliated to the CITU started an indefinite relay sit-in in front of the bus terminal here on Wednesday.
Addressing the employees, CITU district vice- president M. Bhaskaran said that the corporation should take immediate steps to pressure the Kerala Transport Development Financial Corporation (KTEFC) to complete the construction and ensure facilities for the employees as well as passengers.
Though there is a VIP lounge in the plan, it is yet to be built. Women have no separate waiting room or facility for feeding children, it was pointed out.
It may be recalled that the department of fire and safety has been denying clearance for the building citing lack of ventilation, faulty construction and other fire and safety guidelines.
KSRTC zonal manager A. Safarullah told DC that the employees as well as passengers were struggling in the closed bus bay where they were exposed to extreme pollution due to lack of ventilation. “Moreover, we have no space for administrative wing, rest rooms for employees and other facilities,” he added.
The construction of the terminal was started in 2009 at an estimate of Rs 53 crore, which consists of a main building with two towers.
Due to the delay in completion, the cost went up to around Rs 65 crore. Each tower includes 11 floors with parking area which consists of a shopping complex, KSRTC bus station, offices, garage buildings and the basement floor meant exclusively for vehicle parking. Apart from the bus bay, no other facilities are functional in the terminal.
