The Hindu : Proposal to shift city, suburban bus stands to J.K.Grounds

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jan 02, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Karnataka

Proposal to shift city, suburban bus stands to J.K.Grounds

By Our Staff Correspondent

MYSORE Jan. 1. The KSRTC will submit a proposal to the State Government shortly seeking shifting of City and Suburban bus stands here to Jeevarayana Katte Grounds (J.K. Grounds).

Disclosing this to presspersons here today, the KSRTC Chairman, R.V. Devaraj, said the City Bus Stand near K.R. Circle was under litigation with the scion of the royal family, Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar, claiming the land. A writ petition in this regard was pending before the court.

In view of the litigation, the Chief Minister, S.M. Krishna, had directed the KSRTC to come up with a proposal to shift the City Bus Stand to an alternative place.

Keeping in mind the preference of the people of Mysore, the KSRTC was working on a proposal to shift the City Bus Stand to J.K. Grounds near the City Railway Station. The proposal would be submitted to the Government within three months, Mr. Devaraj said.

J.K. Grounds belongs to the Mysore Medical College, which is unwilling to part with the prime property to construct a bus stand. Though the district administration came up with such a proposal on earlier occasions, the college management opposed any move to takeover J.K. Grounds.

The district administration had stated that shifting the bus stands to J.K.Grounds would help commuters in view of their location near the railway station. This was the reason for choosing J.K. Grounds as an ideal place for the two bus stands. The district administration was also of the opinion that conversion of J.K. Grounds as City and Suburban bus stands would make way for the existing Suburban Bus Stand to be converted into a bus stand for private buses.

Owners of private buses, who were not allowed to operate from Chatri Mara on Mahadeshwara Road, have refused to shift to the new bus stand situated near the Old RMC Yard. Without a bus stand, the private buses are now operating from the road opposite Regency Theatre near the Karanji Tank.

However, the district administration's proposal was dropped after the management of the college refused to oblige. The KSRTC's latest proposal to convert J.K. Grounds into two bus stands is expected to elicit a similar response from the college management.

Road train

The KSRTC today launched a new service, `Road Train", here. Mr. Devaraj said the response of bus commuters to the new service was encouraging. During the trial runs, the KSRTC learnt that it could make a profit from the service.

He said similar road trains would be introduced on Mysore-Nanjangud and Mysore-Mandya routes. Though the KSRTC had a proposal to operate low-floor buses in the city, the poor condition of roads and road humps hindered it. However, the proposal would be examined in detail with the officials of the Mysore City Corporation and the Police Department.

Mr. Devaraj said the KSRTC had been able to overcome its losses. "The projected profit of KSRTC this year is Rs. 50 crore, including Rs. 40 crore by BMTC alone." The KSRTC would soon introduce passenger-friendly steps in its services, he added.

Mr. Devaraj also launched buses with automatic doors to the Chamundi Hills. The KSRTC Mysore Divisional Controller, M. Chinnaswamy, was present.

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