Plan to shift Badambadi in limbo

CUTTACK: Bereft of basic facilities and shorn of good roads, Badambadi bus stand, one of the oldest and biggest bus terminal of the state, is a picture of neglect.
Though the state government had promised to shift the terminal to Gopalpur near city, but the proposal is on the backburner for last two years.
A bust stand source said as many as 700 buses are plying through the terminal every day whereas the facility can accommodate hardly 55 buses.With the space crunch, hundreds of buses are parked on Link Road, creating traffic snarl-ups. Apart from that, the place is littered with filth and people are using the area to piss. Commuters have little option, but to bear with pungent smell and stinking garbage. With monsoon at its peak, the potholes have gone bigger and mud and sludge greet passengers.
"It's unfortunate to see Badambadi bus stand in darkness at night in the absence of lighting. It's nightmarish for passengers after dark," said passenger Manoranjan Sahu.
According to official sources, the government made a proposal in 2012 to shift the bus terminal to Gopalpur by constructing a new facility on 42.64 acre. The project was supposed to be executed jointly by commerce and transport department and Odisha State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC).
Cuttack RTO Dipti Ranjan Patra passed the buck to OSRTC. "Maintenance of Badmabadi bus stand is not our responsibility," he said.
General manager of OSRTC Prasanna Kumar Sarangi said, "We will renovate the bus stand, provide lighting facilities and construct toilets. Shifting it to Gopalpur will be done in future."
"The Commerce and Transport department has sanctioned Rs 1.5 crore for the purpose and the repair work will start soon," said Sarangi.
The source said local hawkers are putting pressure on authorities not to shift the terminus. A group of hawkers have been allegedly extorting buses and earning lakhs of rupees. Closure of the terminal will affect their source of income, the source said. A number of crimes have taken place in the area in the past over the issue.