Charanjit Singh Teja
Amritsar, December 25
Infrastructure of the Metro bus being run under Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) is deteriorating due to low maintenance. Ceilings are damaged at several places and grills are missing. Announcements system is also lying defunct.
The Municipal Corporation (MC) has sanctioned funds worth crores for the maintenance of BRTS roads and corridors. Missing grills were reinstalled and painted in the past few months.
The BRTS project would complete four years in January next. BRTS roads are in a pathetic condition. The MC assured to re-carpet the roads before the G20 summit. Ceilings of Metro bus stations are also in a poor condition at some stations.
Ironically, the Civil Hospital station is still incomplete. The authorities did not start it even after promising to make it functional. It is the nearest stoppage for walled city residents, but the authorities concerned failed to make it functional even after four years.
Ravinder Sachdeva, a trader at Ram Bagh, said: “A large number of workers visit the Ram Bagh and other markets daily. They have to go to the bus stand to get Metro bus as the nearby station is not functional. If the BRTS authorities started the Civil Hospital station, it would be easy for residents to use the bus service”.
In the absence of regular maintenance, automatic doors are also lying defunct. The announcement system stopped working in most of the buses. Even screens displaying information about various routes are also non-functional. People from other cities face inconvenience while using this service in the absence of route details.
Naresh Johar, a regular passenger, said: “Due to low maintenance, the Metro bus lost its charm. Green belt is not being maintained properly. Metro bus stations are in a poor condition. The administration should take care of this project”.
