The Coimbatore Corporation, in all probability, will ensure that the subject regarding the construction of a new bus terminal in Vadavalli is placed in the first council meeting.
Highly placed sources told The Hindu that the civic body was taking all possible efforts to ensure that the Council accords approval to the project, which the erstwhile Vadavalli Town Panchayat's council had approved of.
Once the Corporation Council passes the subject regarding the bus terminal, the engineering wing will prepare the estimates for a Class C terminal in the area, float a tender for the purpose and thereafter award the tender for commencement of work.
The Vadavalli Town Panchayat council had approved of the proposal to shift the present bus stand, which is slightly off the Marudhamalai Road, to the plot that is north of it.
The nearly 50-cent plot belongs to the Revenue Department. After the local body's proposal, the district Revenue Department accorded permission for construction of a bus terminal.
The reason the local body wanted a terminal was to have a full-fledged facility that would not hamper with the traffic flow on the road, said V.M. Shanmugasundaram, former President of the Town Panchayat.
“On the limited space that is available, there exists a bus stop. Not more than half-a-dozen buses can be parked there. There is also an auto rickshaw stand abutting it. This creates traffic congestion, especially in the mornings, when buses from education institutions compete with town buses,” he says.
The other reason why the bus stop should be shifted to form a bus terminal is that once the Marudhamalai Road expansion work reaches the bus stop, there will be hardly any space at the place that now serves a bus stop, says K. Kathirmathiyon, Secretary, Coimbatore Consumer Cause.
He says whatever be the reason the then Vadavalli Town Panchayat did not take up the bus terminal project, the Coimbatore Corporation should ignore it and pursue it in right earnest.
If the civic body were to build a bus terminal there, it would also serve as a revenue source as the occupants of the shop in the terminal will pay rent to the civic body, he adds.
As per norms, a Class C bus terminal can accommodate 10 buses, platforms for passengers to board and alight from bus, facility to load and unload luggage, waiting shed, light, public convenience facility and display boards.
