Howrah News Service -  Latest news and headlines on Howrah,West Bengal and World: State wants two years to shift Esplanade bus terminus

State wants two years to shift Esplanade bus terminus
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editor on 25 February, 2008 04:07:00
 
The state government will seek two years from Calcutta High Court to shift the
Esplanade bus terminus.
The court, in September last year, had set March 29, 2008, as the deadline for
the government to shift the terminus beyond three km of Victoria Memorial Hall.
The ruling, along with another one asking the state not to issue fresh licences
to eateries around Park Street, was aimed at protecting the marble monument on
the Maidan from pollution.
The transport department decided at a recent meeting that it would be unable to
meet the deadline and would file an affidavit in the court seeking two years for
the shifting.
After receiving the court order, the department had discussed with experts
probable plans to shift the terminus from Esplanade. “The state had
approached the Calcutta Port Trust (CPT), seeking land for a permanent bus
terminus on the eastern side of Band Stand. But the CPT is not ready to part
with land,” said a transport department official.
He said the government had already constructed a terminus at Band Strand
(adjacent to Eden Gardens), where most private buses and minibuses have shifted.
“These buses used to terminate their journey at Esplanade. They have been
redirected to Band Strand to contain the growing level of pollution at
Esplanade. Very few private and long-distance buses now use the Esplanade
terminus. But until a suitable plot is available, the Esplanade terminus cannot
be shifted,” the transport department has stated in its affidavit.
There are some long-distance buses that enter the city illegally and park on
Strand Road. “The state had proposed the construction of a terminus for
them in Howrah, off Vidyasagar Setu, but the plan was put off considering the
problems commuters would face following the relocation,” said an official.