ISBT : Potholes begin to adorn road inside terminus
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, October 23 2017: Even as traffic congestion has been eased to a large extent after the NEC funded Inter-State Bus Terminus (ISBT) at Khuman Lampak became operational, most of the blacktopped roads inside the bus terminus have begun to corrode and potholes have started adorning the roads.

The potholes widened due to stagnation of water following the downpour during the last couple of days.

This has caused immense problems to vehicles which move in and out of the terminus .

If the road condition is allowed to deteriorate any further, it is likely that drivers would find it hard to park their vehicles inside the terminus .

According to information available with The Sangai Express, the ISBT at Khuman Lampak was constructed at a cost of Rs 26.40 crore under NEC funding.

The NEC also sanctioned Rs 76 lakh as Grant in Aid under 11th Plan in 2015-16 .

ISBT : Potholes begin to adorn road inside terminus

The ISBT, which is also billed as one of the assets of the State, was formally inaugurated by the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the presence of UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi on December 3, 2011 .

Although the project was inaugurated, it remained abandoned for a long time due to non-completion of various components.

Its aspect drastically changed when the incomplete terminus was made parking space for oil tankers which later also turned out as a garbage dumping site .

However, the ISBT was made operational by the then Works Minister Kh Ratankumar on November 14, 2016 after completing the components .

The maintenance and management of the bus terminus was outsourced to Unified Metropolitan Transport Agency (UMTA).

Since then, ISBT became the parking place for various passenger carrier vehicles (bus, Winger, Tata Magic etc) plying in different routes under the strict instruction of the State Transport department .

Now, passenger vehicles like bus, Winger, Tata Magic and even auto-rickshaw plying between the State capital and other places like Chura-chandpur, Ukhrul, Saikul, Serou, Sugnu, Kakching, Wangjing, Pallel and vehicles plying in other routes are parked inside the ISBT.

This has eased congestion in Imphal area to a large extent .

The BJP-led Govt has reintroduced the public transport system, Manipur State Transport (MST) bus services besides commissioning the ISBT complex at Khuman Lampak on June 25 this year .

Nevertheless, poor quality maintenance in road construction inside the terminus has begun to surface as the roads are now adorned with numerous potholes.

As the potholes have widened, no vehicles may dare to venture inside the complex if immediate attention is not paid to repair the dilapidated roads.