This was something which was long overdue. Finally found the time to visit the KSRTC suburban bus stand and review it. KSRTC took a long time to repair or renovate or whatever nonsense they wish to call it. But the bus stand is pretty much the same as it was before that wasteful exercise.
The idea to write about this and the person who accompanied me to the bus stand and without whose inputs this review wouldn't have been anywhere near what it is now, wishes to remain anonymous for various reasons.
Below, I reproduce the article which first appeared at the MGP blog over here.
Poorly Designed Suburban Bus Stand
The suburban bus stand of Mysore on Bangalore Nilgiri Road has been upgraded at a
cost of Rs. 30 crores under JNNURM. MGP has received complaints from the
public about the poor conditions prevailing in this expensive bus
stand. These conditions appear to be a consequence of numerous defects
in the planning, design, execution and maintenance of the facility. It
is a matter of concern that the central bus stand which was also
upgraded recently at enormous expense under JNNURM also suffers from
defects in the planning, design, execution and maintenance. Here are
some of the problems faced by the public in the suburban bus stand.
PARKING
It appears that the basement parking can hold about 30 cars and
several hundred two-wheelers. Even now, it normally appears full. But,
most of the commercial establishments scheduled to come up in the new
building have not started operation and when they start working and
their customers start coming in, there will be no parking space for
their vehicles. This shows a lack of proper planning.
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| leaking sewage water at underground parking |
Due to poor design and execution, raw sewage from overhead pipes
is leaking in several places in the basement parking, soiling both
people and their vehicles. This is disgusting. The walls are stained by
leaking sewage and there are puddles of sewage water in several places.
The public and their vehicles have to wade through this muck.
The bus stand was touted to be "world class" and this is certainly not
what is expected in a world class facility.
The lighting in the underground parking area is very weak It
appears that there is no backup generator and so when there is a power
shutdown, the whole place goes pitch dark. It is hard to imagine how the
public can park their vehicles or get them out in such a situation.
This is poor execution and poor maintenance.
Since the whole parking lot is damp and dark, there are
mosquitoes all the time. Persons manning the parking lot must be going
through hell every day.
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| storm water drains clogged with debris |
The storm water drains (at the entrances of the parking lot)
which are supposed to prevent rain water from entering the underground
parking space are clogged with debris and hence are not doing their job.
We have received complaints that during rains, there is
flooding in the parking lot.
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| the missing "Cloak Room" |
There are no proper directions to the parking lot from the
passenger platform. The sign says "Cloak Room" and leads to the parking
lot!
BUS BAYS
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| "Extended" bus bays |
Since buses back into the stand to pick up passengers, about 6
feet at the edge of the passenger platform should have been cordoned
off from the public. But it has not been done. As a result of this poor
design, there is the distinct possibility that unwary persons standing
or walking in this area can be hit by a bus backing into position.
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| useless raised passenger platforms espcially when it rains |
The raised passenger platform projects 8-10 feet out to enable
passengers to board the bus from its back entrance. But all the new
buses have entrances only in the front. So the purpose of providing this
projection is defeated. This is poor design.
The same is true for the roof overhang. If the roof had covered
the entire length of the bus, passengers could enter the bus even in
heavy rain without getting wet. Now it is not possible. With
very little effort, boarding passengers and baggage could have been
protected from sun and rain. This again is poor design.
 |
| not even a single drain was visible in the entire area |
We did not see any drains to remove rain water in the vast area
in which the buses stand. Unless perfect camber has been provided, pools
of water will form during rains.
BUS ENTRANCE
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| buses parked haphazardly |
Incoming buses stop near the entry to the bus stand disgorging
passengers. This is a scene of chaos. Some buses are parked
helter-skelter three abreast, passengers are getting down and scooting
between other moving buses. It is a wonder people are not run down
regularly. Once again, this is not a good design.
 |
| unever surface near one of the entrances |
Both the road and the footpaths near the bus inlet are in bad
condition with uneven surface and debris. This is again poor
execution and maintenance.
STAIRS AND HANDICAPPED ACCESS
There are several needless stairs. Instead of keeping them at
the same level as the passenger platform, the ticket counters have been
placed a couple of feet higher leading to needless stairs.
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| stairs to....err.. nowhere! |
There are also stairs leading to nowhere! Obviously these
stairs led to some place, but the building plan must have changed and
now there is a wall at the head of the stairs. This is poor planning
indeed.
 |
| useless ramps |
Ramps have been provided at some places, but as seen in the above photo,
there is no ramp from the footpath to the road! Such ramps pay mere
lip service to the Persons With Disabilities Act, 1995 and violate the
spirit of the law.
LEGALITY OF SHOPPING CENTRE
The land on which the moffusil bus stand has been built is
classified as "Traffic and Transportation" in the Revised Comprehensive
Development Plan, 2011 for Mysore. According to zoning regulations, only
bus stands and parking can be provided in such a zone and canteens and
banking counters (not exceeding 5% of the total area) can be provided
with special permission. There is no provision for shops in a Traffic
and Transportation zone. Shops have existed for several years next to
the Bangalore section of the bus stand and now more shops and
restaurants are coming up. Is this not a violation of the zoning
regulations?
The detailed project report for the bus stand,
available here (pdf), says "Given the location of the proposed bus terminal and the real
estate scenario in the moffusil bus stand, large scale leveraging of the
site is possible". It appears that making money has taken precedence
over providing quality service to the public. Providing an unnecessary
shopping complex has become more important than providing decent parking
and safe platforms.
