The existing Mysore bus stand will be replaced by a 4-floor high-tech one to ease congestion, reported the Economic Times. The new bus stand will also have subways and facilities such as banks, ATM centres, rest rooms, cloak rooms, cyber cafes, super bazaars and parking facilities under a single roof.

The bus stand will also have a heritage look to match the city’s heritage city status. The Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban renewal mission (JNNURM) will provide the funds worth Rs 85.25 crore.for the infrastructure. The city will also get an amenity centre to attract tourists. Seven places including Sathgalli, Kuvenpunagar, Naidunagar and Yelwala will get hi-tech bus stands. The project is estimated to be complete in 18 months. The project will cover 63 selected cities in India, including Mysore.

The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) plans to build seven hi-tech bus stands in Bangalore, reported the Hindu. The work on the Rs 480 crore project funded by JNNURM will commence soon. New bus stands are planned in Shantinagar, Koramangala, Vijayanagar, Banashankari, Kengeri, Yeshwanthpur and ITPL. The Government is also planning to introduce improved mass transport system in Karnataka.

These plans look excellent on paper. However, implementation as per schedule and maintenance are also important factors. Discussing the plans to use Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) and Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) buses for the mass transport system, Transport Minister R. Ashok, said that he would request the chief minister to travel by the high-tech ‘Vayu Vajra’ soon.

Law makers and top officials regularly commuting by public transport system, would be an Utopian ideal, with authorities being forced to provide high standards of service. People who regularly used the battered Karnataka-Kerala route were surprised to see the Nagarahole roads in excellent condition, only to learn that Rahul Gandhi, the youth congress leader, had visited the place for election campaigning. X

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