Govt's apathy reduces ISBT to dust and dirt
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, December 08 2024: With the authorities turning a blind eye, the Inter-State Bus Terminus (ISBT) constructed at Khuman Lampak is now no better than a cowshed.

Perhaps it is worse as the bus parking lots are dusty, dirty and muddy while there is no electricity and the toilets are not working properly.

ISBT was inaugurated by then Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi on December 3, 2013 before it was commissioned on November 16, 2016 .

In the absence of periodic maintenance works and the authority concerned taking little care of it, the ISBT has fallen into a very bad shape.

Some bus drivers who operate on the Imphal-Guwahati route told The Sangai Express that the ISBT was very comfortable and convenient during its initial days.

Inter State Bus Terminal (ISBT) at Khuman Lampak in January 19 2015 :: Pix - Deepak Oinam

The roads inside the ISBT complex as well as the toilets were in good condition.

Drivers and their assistants had a comfortable place for resting at ISBT after driving for long hours.

There was also ample water supply, they said.

The roads started breaking apart and the toilets became filthy just two years after the complex was commissioned as there was neither periodic maintenance nor regular cleaning, the drivers said.

The bus terminus had already started deteriorating when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the State.

The condition grew worse when the complex was used as a quarantine centre for drivers and people coming from outside the State, they said.

With a large number of people quarantined inside the complex, the toilets became extremely filthy and the roads turned into a paddy field.

As even buses could not move along the muddy roads, they were pushed by excavators (JCB) .

The whole complex which deteriorated to the extreme has not been repaired or renovated till date except for a layer of coarse stones scattered on the entrance.

The condition of the bus terminus became a symbol of complete decadence after it was inundated by floods this year, the drivers said.

Since the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the inter-State buses stopped loading passengers inside ISBT.

Instead, passengers were made to board the buses at North AOC.

Even today, passengers board buses at North AOC but offloading of goods on the return journey is still done at ISBT, they said.

When there is movement of VIPs, police do not allow buses to park at North AOC.

As such, the buses have to drive around until the VIPs have gone past North AOC area.

Although the ISBT is not functioning properly, buses which go inside are charged Rs 100 each when they come out, said the drivers.

They said that the sorry state of ISBT is a testimony of the State Government's attitude towards drivers.

Saying that the current condition of ISBT is extremely deplorable as compared with inter-State bus terminuses of other States and it is a matter of shame for Manipur, the drivers expressed keen desire for the authorities to pay due attention to the ISBT and make sure that it serves its purpose.

One Winger van driver who operates on Imphal-Ukhrul road said that the whole ISBT complex starting from the toilets is quite filthy.

Drivers as well as passengers who come to ISBT to go to different places no longer use its toilets.

Instead they use private toilets by paying Rs 10 to Rs 20, he said.

The Government's miserable failure to maintain the bus terminus properly has been causing a lot of difficulties to drivers and passengers alike.

The Government's habit of abandoning an office or an infrastructure soon after it is inaugurated is posing a major hurdle to the State's development, he opined.

On the other hand, a large number of buses parked at North AOC has been causing traffic jams in the area, particularly in the morning.

The same spaces where buses are parked are also used as parking lots for auto-rickshaws thereby causing traffic snarls.

Given the fact that Raj Medicity is located just beside the space used as parking lots, patients and patient parties have been facing lots of troubles in reaching the hospital in time.