Siliguri: Bus owners protest against shifting of local bus stand

Siliguri: The Bus and Mini Bus Joint Action Forum on Friday staged a silent protest in Siliguri against the decision of shifting the local bus stand from Bagrakote to Tinbatti more. They even boycotted a meeting called by the mayor.

The mayor held a meeting with the District Magistrate of Darjeeling district and other officials on Friday where he clarified that the bus stand has to be shifted to control the traffic congestion in the city.

“The bus stand is located on an important road which connects the office of Municipal Corporation and important schools and colleges. A huge traffic congestion is being created every day owing to the buses and so we have decided to shift it to Tinbatti More. There is no other way to resolve the congestion. We will also take steps to control the movement of totos,” said Gautam Deb, Mayor of Siliguri.

Meanwhile, the bus owners complained that if the bus stand is shifted, the number of passengers

will decrease.

Pranab Kanti Mani, Secretary of the North Bengal Passengers Transport Owner’s Co-Ordination Committee, said: “This bus stand is almost 50 years old. If there is a requirement to change traffic movement, then other vehicles like toto or autos which are new to the city should be controlled. Why only buses? A passenger can easily afford a bus ticket, but it will be costlier for them to take an auto or toto. If the buses are shifted, passengers have to take auto or toto to reach Tinbatti and then they will have to board the buses.”

A total of 110 private buses run on local routes between Siliguri and Matigara, Kharibari, Naxalbari and other nearby areas.