By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: The State Government has entered into an agreement with an ad agency to lay the bus sheds in the city.
Informing this, , Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Shillong Municipal Board (SMB) Tableland Lyngwa said, “We have entered into an agreement with Outreach, an advertisement agency, which will bear the cost of advertisements and the entire cost of construction.”
The bus sheds will be coming up from Mawlai to Nongthymmai and some existing bus sheds in the city will be upgraded.
“We have a bigger plan for the gazebo (in front of OB Shopping Mall) in Khyndailad with open spaces and a bus shed in one corner.
The ADB, a consultant of the Board, is giving us ideas for implementation,” said the CEO.
It may be mentioned that the said gazebo earlier turned into a dumping ground with rag-pickers even residing inside it in an inhuman and unhygienic condition.
After it was reported in this daily in the past, the authorities though have removed the dwellers from inside but rampant dumping is continuing unabatedly at the site.
These bus sheds will be constructed in line with those that can be seen in bigger cities.
These bus sheds are required once the new allotment of SPTS buses arrives and pressed into service. New slots will be required once these new buses start functioning.
BK Panda, Director, Urban Affairs said, “The bus sheds will be constructed away from the main traffic area with a waiting arena so that it does not affect the flow of traffic,” pointing to the bus shed that is in place outside the old assembly site at Khyndailad.
The Shillong Municipal Board (SMB) is in the process of negotiation with parties from Guwahati and elsewhere and it is learnt that the ADB, engaged as an institutional development consultant, is facilitating the SMB to rope in private people for advertisement, how to maintain these bus sheds after construction. “They are suggesting to go for a waiting service with timing of buses, routes, city maps which will be displayed in the bus sheds,” said the Director.
The District Administration, SP, Public Works Department, SMB has identified few places for these bus sheds but there are some places where there is no footpath whereas in other places the flow of traffic is obstructed where some reengineering has to be done by the PWD.
“The government will quote the expression of interest,” said the Director on the present status of these bus sheds. On enquiring as to why it is taking so much of time to refurbish the gazebo the Director said that along with the gazebo there are other 6/7 sites in the town where bus sheds will be constructed and for that the matter took time.