SAMBALPUR GOVERNMENT BUS STAND WEARING A FORNLON LOOK

SAMBALPUR GOVERNMENT BUS STAND WEARING A FORNLON LOOK 11/03/2012

ODISHA NEWS:

SAMBALPUR NEWS:

The Orissa State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC) is a joint venture undertaking of the Government of India and the state Government of Orissa, constituted in 1974 under the Road Transportation Act 1950.


The OSRTC provides road transportation facilitates for passengers in the state of Orissa, which has a population of 36,706,920.The corporation operates 150 buses from the state capital Bhubaneswar to the headquarters of the districts and beyond carrying thousands of passengers daily on 150 routes.


Care is taken to provide bus service to people living in the under-developed and remote areas of the state. The corporation provides concessional travel facilities to the students, handicapped, freedom fighters etc. The state has also a large number of private buses operating in the populous areas. The corporation acts as a regulator in the enforcement of passenger fares fixed by the government for the benefit of the public. The corporation endeavours also to provide amenities of better standards to the passengers at the bus stands and enroute.



Once the Sambalpur bus stand was a hub of passengers and buses trajecting different roads of the state even beyond.
But due to the apathy of the government, the OSRTC ( ODISHA STATE ROAD TRANSPORT CORPORATION) is in a complete mess and in a deserted condition. Thanks to the Ex – Transport Minister JAYNARAYAN MISHRA, A BJP MLA. Still now he is the standing BJP MLA of Sambalpur.

There was a time when this Central Workshop was noted for the quality body building capacity. The siren of this workshop has fallen silent. Some of the workers working under this OSRTC have died without getting their legitimate dues . Some more active and desperate retired employees have staged dhara, fast unto death, relay hunger strike in front of the Odisha Secretariat, Bhubaneswar.

But their voices were not paid heed by the government. A senior Police service officer was being posted as MD and political nominee was nominated as Chairman of the OSRTC.

Passengers have tremendous faith in these government buses especially plying between Sambalpur – Cuttack- Bhubaneswar.

In Orissa, the public transport system is in total disarray--old, rickety buses, bad roads and unscrupulous private bus operators, who have monopolised the system in the absence of a healthy state transport company.


The plight of commuters can be gauged from the fact that only 5,566 buses meet the transport requirements of a population of 368.05 lakh (2001 Census), besides visitors. As the scene is dominated by private bus operators, unrenumerative routes remained uncovered.
The state-owned Orissa State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC), with only 235 buses, 2% of the total buses plying in the state, is not able to cover the routes deserted by private operators. State buses cover only 2,856 routes. As many as 65 rural and 35 urban feeder routes are being serviced by about 7,912 soft-topped trekkers. Even though these vehicles are not permitted to carry passengers for safety reasons, the government has remained silent.


In the absence of a developed railway network, the road rail share of passengers in Orissa is much higher then the national average of 85:15. But, there has been no matching rise in services to meet the higher requirement of passengers.


Poor infrastructure has added to the misery of passengers. Of the total road length of 2.38 lakh km, 86% are rural roads, while 3% can be said to be part of the national highway and state highways, 23% are surfaced roads. About 40% of roads have all-weather connectivity. However, what is a matter of concern is that about 70% to 80% of the road network is bad, dilapidated, or ill-maintained.


If roads are bad, bus stands are worse. There are 37 bus stands that are either owned and maintained by the OSRTC or local bodies. But due to poor maintenance, most of them are in a pathetic condition.


Though belatedly, the state government seems to have woken up to the problem. "We are soon going to announce the state transport policy", says the then state transport minister, Jayanarayan Mishra. According to him, the policy would encourage private investment in the public transport sector with a view to increasing the fleet and developing and maintaining infrastructure.


The policy proposes to set up an Orissa transport regulatory and advisory council to regulate the sector by tariff fixation and maintaining discipline in operations, as also an infrastructure development authority.

The government also plans to announce a separate policy for town bus services. This would encourage co-operatives of private operators and non-government organizations in city services.

To ease traffic congestion between Cuttack and Bhubaneswar, the government proposes to introduce a mass rapid transport system. It has entrusted RITES to prepare a feasibility report. At present, on an average four to six lakh people commute between the two cities per day.


The OSRTC is dying a slow death but it can be revived with a strong political will.

SIDDHARTHA SHANKAR MISHRA,
NEAR PROFESSORS’ COLONY,
AT/PO – BUDHARAJA,
DIST – SAMBALPUR,
STATE- ODISHA,
PIN – 768004,
PH - +919937965779