Bus Station Watch 3: KR Market

(click on image for larger view)

A bird’s eye view of the K R Market bus stand where basic amenities still a far cry.At this one of the oldest bus stands in the City, encroachment by hawkers is rampant, commuters feel that boarding a bus is literally a Herculean task.

Bus Station Watch 3: KR Market
Where din and chaos reign supreme
At this one of the oldest bus stands in the City, where encroachment by hawkers is rampant, commuters feel that boarding a bus is literally a Herculean task.

Deccan Herald

This bus stand is known far and wide. It is perhaps the one of the oldest bus stations, from where the State-run KSRTC and BMTC have been plying hundreds of buses. But believe it or not, there isn’t any platform (shelter) built for buses and passengers. Yes, here the bus station being discussed is the good old K R Market bus stand located in the heart of the City.

In fact, this place acts as a one-stop shop as both market and bus stand besides auto and taxi stands located at one place. While buses manage to jostle their way through chaotic traffic, way-side vendors simultaneously carry out their business at every available space, creating din and chaos almost round the clock.
This being the scene, thousands of travellers are left in the lurch, with absolutely no amenities. Let alone provisions for potable water and a decent public toilet, there is no overhead roof or a platform for passengers to take shelter from the scorching sun or rain.

Travellers, mostly hailing from villages of Bangalore urban and rural districts, as a result are left with no option but to squat on the unkempt roads and footpath (that are spared by hawkers). With the absence of urinals, footpath on either side the road have turned out to be one for travellers.

If not anybody at least the traffic police have taken pity on commuters. The police recently blocked traffic movement on the road connecting Town Hall junction from Mysore Road (right under Bangalore-Mysore Road flyover) and allowed commuters and vehicles to use the space under the flyover as makeshift platform. This has only turned things from bad to worse because the buses have to now ply on a narrow road before reaching the road connecting Town Hall.

Woes of commuters does not end here. One needs to be an athlete to catch buses. There is no designated slots for buses to stop. So, drivers are forced to park the buses wherever they get space. This invariably leaves people to gasp for breath before they board a bus. It is too much to expect boards displaying bus routes in a place where there is no bus shelter.

Not only public, even BMTC drivers and conductors find it tough to trace their route buses. This reporter while studying the problem faced by the travelling public in KR Market, came across a BMTC driver who was searching for the bus he should drive. “I myself do not know where my bus is. I am searching for it from the last 15 minutes. Just imagine the condition of the public here,” he said.
Owing to rampant encroachment of footpath and even roads by hawkers and absence of designated place for buses (both government and private) to stop, K R Market traffic junction always remains clogged. Traffic police, however, remain mute spectators.

Blame game

While passengers here have a harrowing time, BMTC and Bangalore Mahangara Palike (BMP)are indulging in blame game. Both organisations are not ready to provide amenities here.
While BMTC officials say that ‘bus stand’ (though no such thing exists physically) belongs to BMP, and it has to provide all facilities,the BMP officials blame BMTC for parking buses though there no designated slots. BMP flatly refuse to develop the place.

COMMUTER CALLING

Naushad: There is utter chaos here. Not even once in the last 25 years, have I seen the bus stand kept clean. Heaps of garbage can be spotted around the bus stand.


Rajaram: Nobody can predict where the buses stop here. Drivers stop according to their whims and fancies. We have to run after them till they stop. There is no way of setting things right as the very idea of a bus stand on a traffic junction is unscientific and impractical.

Shashikala: There is an urgent need to ensure that the place is clean and safe for women. But the Government is worried only about profit and hence hiking the bus fare frequently.

Radha Mani: I am scared to bring my children along because they panic due to the chaos prevailing here. There is no facility for drinking water and toilets. It is always better to spend more money and travel by auto.

Bhaskar K: This is a problematic bus stand. Commuters mainly want their buses to come on time, bus stand should be clean and and there should be basic amenities like drinking water and toilets. But neither are available here.

KSRTC RESPONSE

G S Nagaraj Rao, BMTC ATM (K R Market bus stand).
nThe bus stand belongs to BMP, and it has not heeded to repeated pleas to provide amenities like public toilets, drinking water facilities and others for passengers. Despite repeated warnings, BMP cleaning workers have remained callous and rarely clean the place. Only to ease passengers’ problem to some extend, the space under the flyover is now being used as a makeshift platform.

Rame Gowda, BMP Chief Engineer.
nBMP has nothing to do with the bus stand at K R Market. In fact, there is no bus stand at all. BMTC buses just stop their. If BMTC wants to provide any facilities to passengers, it has to take steps. BMP will soon take up remodelling project at Kalasipalya bus stand and BMTC can then shift its ‘bus stand’.