‘Soon, English Bazar to have mini bus-stand’

Malda: To avoid road congestion and enormous traffic jams in the English Bazar Municipality (EBM) area, the plan of setting up a mini bus-stand in the west side of the town has been taken up.

The district administration and the EBM are working hand-in-hand for the implementation of this traffic management plan which will prove to be convenient for the commuters.

The administration and EBM visited a plot at the Ghorapir More and finalised it for the project. The proposal has been sent to the Transport Ministry for final approval and fund allocation.

Krishnendu Narayan Choudhury, Chairman of EBM, said: “We have to talk to the Ministry and we have been asked to keep the budget of the project under Rs 60 lakh. The buses plying on the west side of Malda will board and deboard the passengers from there. Then these vehicles wouldn’t need to go to the Gourkanya Bus Terminal at the south end of English Bazar through the municipal area causing traffic jams.”

Further, the bus stand will have sheds for 3 buses to stop at a time. There will be sheds for the public to wait and the other amenities of pure drinking water, clean toilets will be made available.

A huge number of commuters use the Manikchak and Ratua route on the west side of the EBM area. The frequency of the buses is also high so the plan to make a bus stand at a place before entering the municipal area hit upon the officials.

The plot selected is so far used by some trucks for a temporary stand. Both the EBM and administration met with the truck and bus owners organisations to sort out the initial hindrances.

Nitin Singhania, District Magistrate Malda, said: “The district administration is jointly working with EBM on this. Every aspect is being taken care of. Soon, the bus stand will be operational.”