SHILLONG, March 31: After over eight months since its inauguration by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the Interstate Bus Terminus (ISBT) at Mawiong will on Friday become up and running with all interstate buses shifting their operations there. However, there still is no clarity on how the passengers will be ferried from the city to the ISBT.
An official at the Transport department said that all the interstate buses plying from Shillong to different cities and towns such as Silchar, Siliguri, Dimapur etc are expected to ply from the ISBT come Friday.
When asked about any mechanism to ferry passengers to the ISBT, the official said that the bus providers will have to chalk out a strategy in this regard.
As of now, all interstate buses from Shillong ply from the Polo parking lot.
Meanwhile, some stalls, which were inaugurated at the ISBT on Thursday, are expected to be operational from May.
It may be mentioned that despite its inauguration by Union Home Minister in July last year, the much-talked-about ISBT did not immediately see the light of day.
Sanctioned for Rs 48.31 crore by the North Eastern Council on January 28, 2013, the ISBT can house as many as 200 buses. It is also equipped with waiting areas, shops and other similar facilities.
To add to that, 95 per cent of the process for allocation of shops and creation of other facilities in the ISBT has also been completed.