Bhubaneswar: Following years of dilly-dallying, the Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) has finally decided to commission the modernisation work of Baramunda bus terminus here.
This was revealed after a high-level meeting held at the BDA office Wednesday. It has been learnt that the development authority has decided to transform the Baramunda bus stand, the only inter-state bus terminus in the state, into a world class one. The bus terminal set up on 14.43 acres in the Capital city will soon have state-of-the-art infrastructure facilities for the passengers.
Currently, the bus terminal has a capacity to accommodate 250 buses, which would be enhanced to 350 buses following the renovation project. Currently, as many as 800 buses ply daily to and from the bus stand – 740 intra-state and 60 inter-state buses.
According to sources, the tender process for infrastructure overhaul of the bus terminal will be finalised by December-end this year.
Several aspects of the blueprint and the designing of the bus stand were discussed at Wednesday’s meeting. Sources said the BDA has appointed a consultant firm to prepare a detailed design plan for the purpose. The firm has already presented its proposed layout plan for the project at Wednesday’s meeting. It was decided in the meeting that the modernisation work of the bus terminal would be completed within six months of commencement.
The work will be accomplished in two phases: First, development of physical infrastructure for an inter-state bus terminal and, second, installation of modern passenger amenities like Wi-Fi facility, e-ticketing system, motorcycle and auto parking facility, rest rooms for bus drivers reaching here from distant places, shops and CCTV surveillance, many more.
Notably, the state government had inked an agreement with ARSS Infrastructure for the modernisation of the bus terminus in 2012. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had laid the foundation stone for the project. However, the agreement was cancelled later due to unspecified reasons.
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