Pulwama Bus Stand remains incomplete due to scarcity of funds

Suhail Bhat

Srinagar, Mar 23: Aimed at decongesting traffic and providing relief to locals, the work on new Bus Stand at Drusoo in southern Pulwama Town remains incomplete due to fund scarcity as out of Rs 32 crore, only small amount of over Rs 2 crore has been spent.
Due to in-completion of Bus Stand, the buses arriving and departing from the town continue to block traffic. With an estimated cost of Rs 32 crores, the Government in 2011 embarked on an ambitious mission to decongest the Pulwama Town but alleged dilly-dally tactics of Government had put the whole initiate in limbo.
Locals from the area said that Government’s failure to complete the project has increased the traffic mess and has further aggravated the problem. “The Bus stand would have regulated the ever-increasing traffic and would have avoided the massive traffic jams. Every day, we have to suffer traffic jams for hours but it hardly matters for the Government,” Shabir Ahmad, a resident of Pulwama, said.
ARTO, Pulwama, Mehboob Ahmad, said the proposed bus bay would have reduced the traffic conjunction by 40%. “It would have accumulated all the buses and cabs, which operate from the roadsides. Some of the small bus stands would have also been absorbed there,” he said. He also said that the roadside vendors that are the main hurdles in the smooth movement of traffic would have also been shifted to the new bus stand.
The Chief Executive Officer, Municipal Committee, Pulwama, Mushtaq Ahmad, said: “The project is incomplete as the funds have not come at an even pace. The Government releases from Board meeting to Board meeting that means after every one year. It’s a Rs 32 crore project and so far only 2.60 crores have been spent,” he said.

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