SHILLONG, Sep 22: Newly-appointed Transport Minister, Dasakhiatbha Lamare has expressed confidence that the Inter-State Bus Terminus (ISBT) at Mawiong would be made operational within December this year.
The much-hyped ISBT has remained cocooned even after two months of its inauguration by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in July.
However, the Minister on Wednesday told reporters that the PWD (Roads) has already handed over the project to the department but some paper works have not been completed. “After that, we will issue tender for operations of canteens, stalls and accommodation facilities,” Lamare said.
When asked about the operation of buses from the ISBT, he made it clear that the government would operate the ISBT and there was no plan to hand over the operations to any private firm.
Asked if the project is fully completed, the Minister revealed that the physical progress of the project is around 98 per cent. “There are some minor electrification work and some minor work in the kitchen areas of the canteens and these minor works will be completed within two weeks,” the Minister said while adding that he would visit the site for inspection and hold consultations with the department on how to make the project operational at the earliest.
It may be mentioned here that The Shillong Times had come out with a report on July 23 with the heading: Home Minister to inaugurate ‘incomplete’ ISBT project. The report had quoted a PWD official who had stated that the project was 97% per cent complete. Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated the ISBT on July 24.
Meanwhile, sources said that police personnel have been deployed on the ISBT premises to restrict people from entering the site after some unidentified persons had manhandled the labourers working on the project.
The Rs 48.31-crore ISBT project was sanctioned by the DoNER Ministry through the North Eastern Council on January 28, 2013.
The project was expected to be completed in October 2017 (36 months from the date of issue of the final work order).
The PWD (Roads) had floated the tender and the project was awarded to Dhar Construction Company and workk on the project began in September 2014.
