Only 60 per cent bus stops in the city have sheds
A file photo of students and public waiting for a bus while standing on the road due to lack of proper bus stops in Vijayawada. (Photo: DC)
Vijayawada: Lack of bus shelters in the city has forced students and others to brave the blazing sun while waiting for the buses. Only 60 per cent of bus stops have sheds while the rest remain in the open. A majority of bus shelters on all the three main roads — Bundar Road, Eluru Road and Besant Road — lack basic amenities and many have been abandoned, occupied by beggars and stray dogs.
There is no safety concerns taken into measure for the people who wait for buses at the bus stops. Also, nearly 40 per cent bus shelters have no sheds. There are no bus shelters at NTR Circle in Bundar Road, Patamata Colony Road, M&M Centre, Challapalle Bungalow, Rama Mandiram on Eluru Road, Bhavanipuram and at many major bus points and helpless commuters are forced to wait for bus on the roads.
It has been a tough time for students, who study in colleges on Bundar Road, as they have to face problems as the bus stops have no shelter to protect them from the sun and rain. “Most of the bus shelters are just there. There is no seating facility and broken roofs allow rain water to seep through causing puddles and dampness even with a light shower,” said a working professional, Ms. V. Divya.
The city bus stops are in a state of utter neglect with no effort to keep it clean and green. VMC officials claim that the bus shelters were being constructed according to the needs of the commuters, but the ground reality is another story altogether. When contacted, the concerned corporation officials, who take care about the shelters, they said that at a cost of more than '1 crore, 50 new bus shelters in the city will be set up after the tender finalisation.
( Source : deccan chronicle )
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