PONDA: The commuters at the Old Ponda bus stand face hardships due to lack of amenities.
These include shortage of toilet facilities as well as two inadequate bus shelters which cannot hold bus passengers, forcing many of brave the sun in this hostile weather.
It may be recalled that around five months ago, due to the dilapidated condition of the old toilet block at the bus stand it was closed for commuters. The toilet block was finally demolished. Following this, the commuters faced hardships for almost over a monthh. After the media highlighted the issue, the authorities finally installed two bio toilets as a temporary measure, which solved the problems to some extent. However, the two bio toilets are not sufficient for hundreds of commuters who arrive at the bus stand on a daily basis.
Goa State Urban Development Agency has started construction of a new toilet block, but commuters complained that the work is going at at a slow pace and its needs to be completed before the monsoon.
There are two small bus shelters which are insufficient to hold commuters. Additionally, the design of the bus shelters is such that they are too small to accommodate all the passengers who utilize the public transport system. Some benches are exposed to the sun due to which passengers prefer to stand outside the bus shelter. One of the bus shelter was dilapidated and was removed thus leaving passengers in the lurch.
The public therefore demanded that the KTC or the government provide basic amenities at the Old Ponda bus stand so that commuters are comfortable and the bus stand is suitable and accommodates them all. They also demanded that the toilet block be completed on priority basis so as to provide basic amenities to the passengers.
