22 yrs on, bus stand project in Hamirpur fails to take off

Dinesh Kanwar

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Hamirpur, August 9

The new bus stand project in the town has failed to make any progress due to government apathy for the past 22 years.

Land transferred

• 50 kanal of forestland transferred to the Transport Department
• More than 800 trees, including 700 pine trees, were axed
• The proposed site is 700 metres from the old bus stand.
• As many as 1,000 vehicles use the old bus stand
• Old bus stand was built during the Janta Party regime (1977-80)

The project, which was announced by Prem Kumar Dhumal in 2000, has failed to take off, even though the former CM represented the Hamirpur at both Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha. Congress leader GS Bali, who was Transport Minister from 2012-17, had also raised the issue but nothing concrete was done.

Saying that the project was the need of the hour, OP Gupta, a local, says traffic has increased manifold in the town. Strong political will and a pragmatic outlook are needed to ensure that development projects materialised. The old bus stand, which was constructed during the Janta Party regime (1977-1980), is used by nearly 1,000 vehicles everyday.

To handle the ever-increasing vehicular traffic in the town, around 50 kanal of forestland was transferred to the Transport Department. More than 800 trees, including 700 pine tress were axed on the land which is 700 metres away from the old bus stand.

In 2016, a tender under the build operate and transfer (BOT) method was allotted to a private firm but it pulled out without initiating any construction. To ease traffic pressure, a bypass was constructed but traffic snarls can still be seen on old roads of the town.

Local MLA Narender Thakur says that he has requested the government to construct the bus stand.