New bus terminus of Tinbatti More inaugurated by Mayor

Siliguri: The much-awaited bus terminus of Tinbatti More was officially inaugurated on Wednesday. Gautam Deb, Mayor of Siliguri, Partha Pratim Roy, Chairman of the North Bengal State Transport Corporation (NBSTC), inaugurated the terminus in an effort to alleviate the growing traffic congestion in Siliguri.

The bus terminus has been built with a sum of Rs 2.58 crore in its initial phase, out of which the state Transport department has provided 1.24 crore and the rest was given by the Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC).

The state-of-the-art facility has been constructed at the abandoned NBSTC site near Tinbatti More. Initially, the terminus will operate 12 government bus services across four key routes, connecting Panitanki, Naxalbari, Kharibari and Pahargumia. “This bus terminus will ease the traffic congestion issues of the city. In the future, more buses will operate from here. There were some issues with the Railways. We need some land for entry and exit gates, which we didn’t get, so we have started the terminus with our existing land,” said Mayor Deb.

Located on 2.5 acres of land, the new bus terminus has been established with the aim of shifting the local private bus stand to the area. However, the private bus owners disagreed to shift their buses.

In this regard, the Mayor said: “I am communicating with the owners and will also communicate with the district administration so that the owners do not face any difficulty. Eventually, the private buses will have to shift to the bus terminus.”

Parthapratim Roy emphasised the long-term vision for the project: “This terminus is just the beginning. We plan to add more routes and facilities to better serve the people of Siliguri.” The existing Divisional Office of NBSTC in the area has been renovated. Toilets for both males and females have been built. More lights, including high mast lights, will be installed here.