Khammam in urgent need of new bus stand

Surrounded by shops and business establishments it is unable to cope with growing traffic congestion. The centrally located bus stand, surrounded by numerous shops and business establishments, is unable to cope with the growing traffic congestion.

The cramped space in the existing APSRTC bus stand in the town is not only compelling the drivers to jostle for parking space but also posing danger to the safety of passengers.

The decades-old bus stand has only eight platforms as against the requirement of at least another ten platforms to ensure hassle free movement of buses as well as passengers.

The centrally located bus stand, surrounded by numerous shops and business establishments, is unable to cope with the growing traffic congestion.

According to sources, daily around 600 pass through the bus stand in the town, which is considered as the gateway to the residuary Andhra Pradesh.

The APSRTC bus depot located near the R & B Guest House is also facing acute shortage of space to accommodate the large fleet of buses.

The space constraints in both the bus stand and bus depot have necessitated the urgent need for construction of a new bus station as well as a bus depot in a suitable and spacious locality in the town.

There have been long pending demands for construction of new bus stand to decongest the traffic in and around the existing bus stand.

Although the authorities concerned have identified some sites near the AP Dairy and NSP bypass road for this purpose, the exercise failed to yield the desired results.

“The RTC drivers vying for space to park the buses particularly on the high frequency routes such as Hyderabad, Kothagudem, Yellendu and Bhadrachalam is a common sight in the existing bus stand,” says K Srinivas, a regular commuter of Yellendu.

“Khammam is poised to emerge as a major transportation hub in Telangana State due to its strategic location. The authorities should construct two new bus stands on the outskirts of the town within the corporation limits with a futuristic perspective,” says K Prabhakar Rao, general secretary, BJP town unit.

The existing bus stand should be converted into a city bus terminal, he suggests saying their party delegation has submitted a memorandum to this effect to Collector I Srinivas Sri Naresh.

The search for suitable land for construction of new bus stand and bus depot is underway, says Ajay Kumar, Regional Manager, APSRTC, Khammam.