PONDA: The present condition of the Kadamba Transport Corporation Limited’s (KTCL) bus stand at Ponda can best be described as being in a shambles. It has been in this condition for the past year and didn’t even have a decent shed for commuters.
While renovation of an existing, dilapidated shed was ambitiously taken up eight months ago, work has hardly been completed, exposing people to the wrath of the summer sun.
Last year, the government had declared that the ramshackle shed at the bus stand was unsafe. It thereafter appointed a contractor to renovate the area. The roofing sheets were removed and work on building a better shed began even as officials estimated that it would be complete in all respects within a year.
However, the project was abandoned in just four months for unknown reasons. While the contractor did subsequently resume work, it has been going at snail’s pace and is unlikely to be completed before the fast-approaching monsoon.
A temporary shelter was constructed as a stopgap measure, but this can accommodate just a few passengers while the rest are exposed to the elements of Nature.
Furious about the lackadaisical attitude of the authorities, commuters – local as well as interstate – frequenting the KTC bus stand at Ponda have demanded that work be completed immediately.
They’ve also said that the bus bays and the road at the bus stand are in a miserable condition and that the structure is not adequately illuminated during the nights.
