With Vyttila Mobility Hub Society (VMHS) doing little to restore the 25-acre premises of the mobility hub that is in a dilapidated state, stakeholders are banking hope on a ₹10-crore scheme of Cochin Smart Mission Limited (CSML) to improve infrastructure, including on the hub premises, for public transport buses.
“The scheme is aimed at augmenting infrastructure, which includes bus stops, on the KSRTC stand-Vyttila Mobility Hub (VMH)-KSRTC stand circular route. The worsening flooding of the mobility hub premises (including on the road that leads to the Vyttila metro station) too will be addressed under the scheme,” official sources said.
Metro and bus commuters have been crying foul at the ineptitude of VMHS in ensuring the upkeep of the vast prime land that it got free of cost from the government a decade and a half ago.
T.V. Paulose, president of Vyttila Bus Terminal Neighbours’ Association, spoke of how petitions sent to stakeholders to tidy premises infested with weeds and reptiles and to prevent flooding, fell on deaf ears. “Many people advised me to approach the court since the hub premises have become dangerous, including for pedestrians who stand the risk of being knocked down by buses and other vehicles, from the moment one entered the ill-maintained and ill-lit hub, even to the exit,” Mr. Paulose added.
CSML sources said the contractor who had been tasked with relaying the damaged and undulating paver blocks on the hub premises (under the ₹10-crore project) had failed to do so, despite reminders. “With commuters having to endure a back-breaking ride, he has now been directed to complete the task within a month, failing which the contract will be terminated, and he will have to pay the extra cost of re-tendering. We will also install lights wherever needed to ensure the safety of commuters and others who use the hub,” they added.
“As a bus commuter, I use the hub premises every day. I was shocked at the shoddy upkeep by VMHS leading to water seeping into the bus waiting area for passengers through leaks in the roof,” said T.N. Prathapan, secretary, Vyttila Vikasana Samithi. “Kochi Metro Rail Limited too has done little, although entry to the metro station is weed infested and has become a dumping ground for garbage. There was hardly any response to my repeated petitions to improve the state of affairs,” he added.
Fed up with the situation, Mr. Prathapan recently floated paper boats on the flooded entry to the metro station as a mark of protest. “I am amazed that VMHS that is headed by an IAS officer has done precious little to ensure the safety and convenience of bus, metro and Water Metro commuters. With more buses set to call at the hub, thanks to a barter agreement with the KSRTC, the situation will go from bad to worse, unless VMHS went into mission mode,” he said.
The Society’s decade-old assurance of kick-starting phase-two development work on the hub premises in public-private partnership mode, too has been a non-starter.
