Hyderabad: There has been no inspection of bus stops after 2012 in the city limits. Many have remained without roofs and seats.
The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) continues to earn revenue in crores of rupees through advertisement from these bus stops without any proper maintenance, reveals a Right to Information (RTI) report.
There are around 2,125 bus stops across the city, as per GHMC records.
Tenders were sanctioned to agencies for the construction and development of the bus stops. According to the process, when it comes to inspection, field engineers from the GHMC will inspect, and if any bus shelter is found to not have proper roof or seating, the concerned operating agency is directed to get the deficiencies rectified immediately.
However, according to the RTI report, the last inspection was done only in 2012 and a record of further inspections was not provided. The GHMC has been collecting revenues from bus stands for advertisements in the GHMC limits, but the revenue has reduced in 2018-19 to `0.50 crore, whereas in the previous year of 2017-18, `1.16 crore was collected.
Mr Robin Zaccheus, who filed the RTI, said, “The state of bus stops in many parts of the city is pathetic. Many do not have a roof and a facility for waiting passengers to sit. It becomes really difficult for commuters to manage during the summer or rainy season. Even display boards are also limited to only a few bus stops.”
He also added that because of the lack of interest in developing these bus stops, revenue from the advertisements is also seeing a decreasing trend.
Citizens on social media platforms have also picked up the issue of bus stops and written about bus stops which are half constructed.
However, these same bus stops are being utilised by advertising agencies to put up their ads.
