The old bus terminal is now in real bad shape. It has developed potholes all over the place, hampering vehicular movement. Likewise, the stench from heaps of garbage dumped inside the city´s only bus park makes waiting difficult for bus passengers. [break]
To make matters worse, Nepal Electricity Authority has cut off the power supply to the bus park after Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) failed to pay the bills. As a result, passengers have been forced to await their buses in the dark.
The grave plight of the bus terminal has failed to draw the attention KMC, the authority with responsibility for its maintenance and development.
“The infrastructures at the bus park is in tatters. Water clogs the premises during the rainy season, due to poor drainage. But KMC has done nothing to improve things,” said Dharma Raj Rimal, Bagmati Zone coordinator of the National Federation of Nepal Transport Entrepreneurs (NFNTE).
Some three years ago when Kedar Bahadur Adhikari was executive officer, KMC had decided to build a commercial tower there with underground vehicle parking, through a public-private partnership. For the purpose, KMC even called tender bids. But a complaint was filed at the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), regarding the reshuffling of executive officers, and KMC shelved the decision.
“As there is no an alternative place for parking vehicles, it is not possible to construct any new physical infrastructure. So, I could not approve the decision,” said Laxman Aryal, who succeeded Adhikari.
Although Aryal admitted that the bus park is in bad shape, he maintains that KMC is not in a position to give the facility a new lease of life as it does not have proper support from other government agencies and stakeholders. “Among other impediments, we do not have sufficient budget funds and so we cannot go beyond repair and maintenance,” he added.
The bus park has capacity for around 500 vehicles. “The bus park is really small in comparison to the number of public vehicles plying inside Kathmandu Valley. KMC should redevelop the bus terminal for minimizing traffic congestion in the city,” said DIG Keshav Prasad Adhikari, chief of Metropolitan Traffic Police Division.
According to NFNTE, there are over 14,000 public vehicles plying inside the Valley.
Sanjaya Raj Upadhaya, chief of Physical Infrastructure Development Division at KMC, said KMC has allotted Rs 1.6 million for repairs at the bus park. “Ahead of Dashian, we had started the repair work through a consumer committee. But it stalled as there has been no electricity at the bus park lately.”
Even officers at KMC posed impediments to coming up with a tangible plan for developing the bus park as a model for the country, he said.
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