NBSTC writes to authorities for land

Kolkata: In a bid to set up a permanent depot in Kalimpong to operate buses after the previous one was set on fire during the three-month-long agitation in the Hills, the North Bengal State Transport Corporation (NBSTC) authorities has written a letter to the district authorities seeking help to get land to set up the same.

Kalimpong district authorities have also assured corporation of providing all help to get a land so that the bus depot can be set up at its earliest.

This comes at the time when Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had earlier announced that there will also be bus services connecting Kalimpong with Darjeeling.

Despite trying the best, the bus services in the Hills were badly affected during the agitation. Public property including buses and offices were set on fire and it also includes the bus depot office in the newly-set up district, Kalimpong.

A senior NBSTC official said earlier that the depot office in Kalimpong was housed in a wooden building. So there is no point going for rebuilding it. "Instead, we wrote a letter to the district magistrate of Kalimpong on Monday seeking help to get land where a permanent bus depot can be set up," adding that setting up of the depot will help in operating the buses from Kalimpong in a much better way.

Setting up of the depot will also help in creating NBSTC's own parking lot from where only the state-run buses will operate which in turn will be immensely beneficial for common people. Earlier, when there was only a depot office, buses had to be parked in an area along the road amidst private buses and other vehicles. The bus depot will consist of all necessary infrastructure to ensure proper operation of buses from the newly-set up district.

There is a plan to add 70 new buses to the existing fleet of NBSTC which will be

operated on different routes in North Bengal. Eight out of the 70 new buses will be made operational in the Hills to ensure better connectivity with places including Kalimpong and Darjeeling.

Once the number of buses on routes connecting Kalimpong goes up, setting up of the depot will become more essential. So, the Kalimpong district authorities have assured the NBSTC authorities of taking all necessary steps to get the latter a plot where the bus depot can be set up.