Stone laid 7 years ago, yet no work done on Himachal's Jassur bus stand project

No work has been done on the interstate bus stand-cum-shopping complex project at Jassur near Nurpur, the foundation stone of which former Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur had laid on November 19, 2018.

A lot of resentment is brewing among the residents and traders of Jassur town who have been awaiting the work on the project to start for the past seven years. The foundation stone plaque stands a testimony to the abject indifference of the successive state governments in completing this project.

Jassur town situated on the Pathankot-Mandi National Highway (NH)-154 is a hub of wholesale trading in Kangra district and in the absence of a bus stand not only traders but also commuters face a lot of inconvenience. A large number of intra-district buses have their routes from Jassur but boarding and alighting them on the busy highway is risky for the commuters.

Private operators as well as the Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) park their buses on the Pathankot-Mandi National Highway near the Jassur-Dhameta Chowk, creating traffic bottlenecks. The construction of a bus stand is a long-pending demand of local traders and commuters as a large number of private and HRTC buses ply to different destinations in Nurpur, Jawali, Indora and Fatehpur subdivisions from there.

The construction of a proper bus stand is a long-standing demand of the area and keeping in view the dire necessity, the then local MLA Rakesh Pathania had taken the initiative and the Jai Ram government had proposed a bus stand complex at Jassur. Owing to the lackadaisical attitude of the government authorities, the future of this ambitious project is in limbo.

Local BJP MLA Ranbir Singh Nikka, who had won the last Assembly election with a huge margin of votes, had promised to get this bus stand complex built but could not even get the construction started.

The HRTC owned land at Jassur near a vegetable market and acquired some additional land from the state Agriculture Department for the construction of the bus stand complex. The HRTC had forwarded the case for felling over 200 trees growing on the land to the Forest Department and the process to axe trees started recently.

Inquiries have revealed that the HRTC, through the HP City Transport Management Development Authority (HPCTMDA), has proposed the construction of the bus stand complex in the public-private partnership (PPP) mode. The detailed project report (DPR) of the proposed bus stand has not been prepared in the past seven years. The HPCTMDA is yet to assess the estimated cost of the project.

Kamal Sharma, Executive Engineer, HPCTMDA, Shimla, says the the drawing and design of the project were submitted to the Regional Manager, HRTC, Pathankot, and the Divisional Manager, HRTC, Dharamsala, but they raised some objections. “Now, with some amendments, the revised drawing and design of the project will be submitted to the authorities concerned on coming Monday. After getting the final approval, a DPR with the estimated cost will be prepared,” he added.