SYED ALI SAFVI
BUDGAM, Sep 16: In a case of share negligence and apathy, the state government, even after seven years, has failed to shift Budgam Bus stand to its new location, much to the dismay of commuters, and shopkeepers, who have threatened to commit suicide in the wake of callous attitude of the state government and Budgam district administration.
The state government had acquired 41 kanals of land near Naraspora, one and a half kilometer from Budgam district headquarters, for establishing bus stand. The site was strategically located and ideally suited for the bus stand. The government spent crores of rupees in developing the site and compensating the land owners. However, the money seems to have just been thrown down the drain as the district administration has failed to make the new Bus stand operation even after seven years, for reasons best known to the authorities.
District Development Commissioner (DDC) Budgam, Mohammad Rafi, who also happens to be chairman of Regional Transport Authority Budgam, had at a meeting, held on July 6, 2009 asserted that the new Bus Stand would be made functional “soon”.
Assistant Regional Transport officer Budgam had issued a letter No 458-62/ARTO Budgam/ 2011, dated 23.05.2011 directing all transport association owners to ply their vehicles from the new Bus Stand Budgam from May 9, 2011.
Worried over unnecessary delay, the DDC, on record, had brought to the notice of general public and all the transporters that the new Bus Stamd would be made operational from May 12, 2011. However, four months on, the Bus Stand is yet to be made functional.
Chaos: Old Bus StandExecutive Officer Municipal Committee Budgam vide letter No 09/280-81, dated 02-09-2009 had informed DDC that necessary instructions should be issued to concerned agencies for making new Bus Stand functional.
“Office of the Executive Officer Municipal Committee Budgam has already discussed the said issue with your office vide letter No MC/Bud/07/405, dated 07-03-2007 and suggested for making the Bus Adda functional,” the letter read.
Members of Shopkeepers and Owners Association, New Bus Stand Budgam (SOA) alleged that when they approached to DDC budgam they were told that the Bus Stand would not be made operational “because of some political pressure”.
“We borrowed huge amount of money from banks and other financial institutions to acquire tenancy rights of the shops, but since the Bus Stand has not been made operational our shops are closed down and the burden of loan is increasing day by day,” the shopkeepers, who have acquired shops at the new Bus Stand said. “We have been pushed to wall. We have reached to a stage where there is no option except committing suicide.”
They said that their repeated pleas have only fallen on deaf ears.
The members of SOA had filed an RTI with DDC Budgam, seeking information about the action taken by his office regarding shifting of Bus Stand.
Interestingly, the office of DDC Budgam directed the applicants to Executive Officer, Municipal Committee, Budgam, stating that “this office is neither the appellant authority nor PIO for the concerned matter”. (DCBI/RTI/11/166-68, dated 13.08.2011)
The shopkeepers also shot a legal notice to DDC Budgam on August 27, 2011 urging him to make the new Bus Stand operational “to the satisfaction of your promises within 15 days”.
“Almost three weeks have passed, but we have not received any reply from the office of DDC Budgam,” the shopkeepers association said.
Pertinently, the SOA had, on October 6, 2009 had made a representation to Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, seeking his intervention into the matter.
Additional Secretary to CM’s Private Secretariat had directed DDC Budgam to “examine the grievances for its redressal”.
The DDC Budgam had on November 16, 2009 asked Executive Officer Municipal Committee Budgam for report.
When contacted, DDC Budgam told Kashmir Times that there is a certain disagreement between sections of the society vis-à-vis shifting of the Bus Stand.
“It generally happens. If you have an established market somewhere and you want to shift a bus stand, there will be disagreement. This has happened in Ganderbal, Kangan or in the case of even Lal Chowk. So the kind of hindrance we are facing is not unusual. May be the divide here (in Budgam) is deeper, but we should be able to sort it out over a period of time. It’s not that we can not enforce our writ, but the fact of the matter is that we want to solve it amicably where people go with us and we could make them understand that this is not for the benefit of the government, but for the benefit of the people, commuters, passenger traffic and shopkeepers,” he said.
He said that it was unfortunate that Budgam town has not developed over the last three decades.
“It’s as bad or as good a headquarter as it was in 1979 when it was established,” he said.
Asked about the delay in making the Bus Stand operational, the DDC said, “Some people with vested interests were creating hindrance. Most of them are shopkeepers at old Bus Stand. They have basically livelihood concerns. They can not be dismissed of hand. We are trying to address the concerns of both sides,” he said. “A balanced act is required where the old Bus Stand does not get suddenly deserted. Some amount of activity is retained there to the extend that it does not cause hindrance to the commuting public.”
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