Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Six months after its grand completion, Indore Development Authority’s (IDA), Rs 110 crore Inter-State Bus Terminal (ISBT) at MR-10 continues to stand as a glittering but useless monument with no operator, no buses, and no passengers.
Despite floating tenders three times, the IDA has failed to rope in any agency to run the terminal, leaving the multi-crore project in complete limbo. Officials remain tight-lipped on who will finally take responsibility for its day-to-day operations.
Officials admitted that while several firms submitted bids, verification of their certificates is still under process, delaying the awarding of the contract. Once validation is complete, an eligible firm will be selected to operate the terminal.
Last year, the administration had handed over operations of the Nayta Mundla Bus Terminal to IDA’s private partner, but within days, the facility was shut down due to operational issues. Since then, buses have continued to operate from the old Navlakha stand, leaving the newly constructed Nayta Mundla ISBT also unused.
The situation has forced passengers to continue boarding buses from makeshift points, causing inconvenience.
The ISBT at MR-10, equipped with modern facilities like waiting halls, ticket counters, and passenger amenities, was envisioned as a hub for interstate bus services that would decongest bus stands located in city and streamline interstate bus services towards Betul, Dewas, Ujjain, Hoshangabad, and Bhopal. Instead, buses continue to choke old routes, while the swanky new facility lies locked and deserted.
What was meant to be Indore’s most modern transport hub is fast turning into a white elephant, a stark reminder of poor planning and execution. Commuters remain stranded in chaos, while taxpayers watch this Rs110 crore investment gather dust.
For now, IDA’s failure has left the MR-10 ISBT without a future and Indore without the world-class bus terminal it was promised.
