Mira Bhayandar: Less than a fortnight after local legislator and transport minister- Pratap Sarnaik took cognizance of The Free Press Journal report highlighting the pathetic condition of the state transport (ST) bus depot in Bhayandar (Spotlight on Bhayandar Depot in its edition dated 27, December), the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) razed the structure on Tuesday.
Notably, the MBMC which owned the property had officially tagged the bus depot structure as dangerous and unfit for use in 2020. As a stop gap arrangement, the depot which houses the control room, ticket booking office and a rest-room for drivers and conductors have been relocated to container offices having all needed facilities.
The office relocated in a makeshift container | File Photo
With peeled-off plasters on the ceiling and toilets sans doors, the makeshift bus depot which was in existence for more than two decades, was in an extremely dilapidated condition, putting at risk lives of staffers and approaching commuters. Huge chunks of plaster and cement from the ceilings had been crashing down at regular intervals, exposing the corroded reinforced metal bars.
Due to the looming threat, the drivers and conductors preferred to take rest inside a bus rather than spending time in the restroom. Moreover, the depot was deprived of basic facilities including-pure drinking water, lack of proper enquiry counters, urinals and sheds, thus forcing commuters to brave the weather by standing in self formed queues amidst bustling vehicular traffic along the main road.
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Sarnaik has assured that a state-of-the-art ST bus terminal which has been planned on a nearby 2-acre plot will be jointly developed by the MBMC and the MSRTC on a space sharing basis, very soon.
New Bus Service from Bhayandar to Jalgaon.
The ST has introduced a new bus service from Bhayandar to Jalgaon from 14, January.
The bus will depart at 9 pm on a daily basis. Additionally, the routes of two buses originating from Borivali and headed to Nate ( Ratnagiri) and Kolhapur have been extended to Bhayandar. The departure time of Nate and Kolhapur buses at Bhayandar depot have been scheduled at 6:45 pm and 10 pm respectively.
