Bhopal(Madhya Pradesh): As many as 352 Bhopal City Link Limited (BCLL) buses plying on the city routes have fallen short of serving the needs of the commuters staying in interior areas of the city.
The buses are currently running on 20 routes across the state capital, however, it skipped many interior areas of the city thus leaving the commuters high and dry. With no public transportation available, the residents, specially students, have to depend on cabs and autos for commuting, which is turning out to be very expensive.
Free Press took stock of bus routes in various city localities on Monday and talked to residents. Buses are running on designated routes from dawn until late evening but the authorities have failed to ensure their operations in the inner areas of prominent localities. Many residential localities and areas which have flourished as education hubs still lack public transport facilities.
Currently buses- SR-4 and SR-8 are plying on Kolar Roads, however, they are unable to cater to the needs of people living in the inner areas of the locality. A number of educational institutions are connected to Kolar Road, but the students have to depend on private vehicles or cabs for commuting.
Shoaib Ahmed, a final year pharmacy student at LN Medical College said
BCLL city bus network is very poor as the area has a number of educational and coaching institutes. In absence of public transport, the students have no option but to hire an auto or cab daily and those who cannot afford have to walk up to Bima Kunj to take a bus from there, said Ahmed.
Ujjwal Gupta, a student of a private university in Chandanpura, who resides in Lalita Nagar in Kolar area, said since there is no bus service in the area where his university is situated, many students, including he, has to depend on private transportation, which has become an additional burden on them (students).
‘200 more buses on city route soon’
When Free Press drew the attention of BCLL Public Relations Officer (PRO), Sanjay Soni on the issue, he said that 200 more buses will soon be roped in thus facilitating transportation in areas which are currently devoid of it.. The areas from where the demand for strengthening public transport is coming will also be surveyed, the official said.
