Kochi: Kerala’s Transport Minister K B Ganesh Kumar on Saturday promised that the frequent waterlogging in the Ernakulam KSRTC bus stand will be resolved “before the next rainy season”. The minister was addressing media after visiting the bus stand which has been in a dilapidated state for years. Frequent waterlogging during monsoons has also made it one of the dirtiest public properties in the state.
Ganesh visited the property, along with Hibi Eden MP, T J Vinod MLA and District Collector N S K Umesh, as part of exploring the options to bring an end to the flooding of the bus stand. He said the floor level of the bus station will be increased to prevent floodwaters from entering the stand. A retaining wall will be built to stop water overflowing from the neighbouring Vivekananda canal entering the bus stand premises.
The drainage surrounding the bus stand building, housing offices, shops and waiting area, will be cleaned and deepened to accommodate maximum rainwater and it will be collected in a sump. The water will be pumped out from there. Discussions will be held with the Railway authorities to find out if KSRTC will be allowed to pump the water to the Thevera-Perandoor canal through a pipe which could be laid under the railway tracks near the bus stand.
Ganesh did not specify the time frame to complete the work. “It will be done before the next rainy season,” he said in vague terms. He said a team from IIT will be assigned to study the proposal.
A source in KSRTC said that the proposal is only in the initial stages and clarity will emerge only in the later stages.
The minister said there is no plan to demolish the existing building even though a project to construct a new mobility hub is on. According to the plan, the Cochin Smart Mission Ltd (CSML) and Vyttila Mobility Hub will construct a station for both KSRTC and private buses on a three-acre plot owned by the KSRTC at Karikkamuri. Instead of this, the Vyttla Mobility Hub will hand over its land at Vyttila to KSRTC. The CSML has allocated Rs 12 crore for the project.
However, the KSRTC and the Mobility hub are yet to reach a consensus about the proposed land transfer. The minister on Saturday said that there were concerns over the land proposed by the Mobility Hub authorities to hand over to his department. “We will not agree to leave us with some marshy land and take away our land in the city,” the minister said.
