Construction of new Shimla bus terminus begins

Shimla -- With the central government allowing the felling of 81 cheer pine trees, construction work of a new inter state bus terminus (ISBT) at the edge of the Himachal Pradesh capital finally began.

A transport department official said the construction of the Tuti Kandi bus terminus in an area of 7.3 hectares began Wednesday after a wait for over three years. The new bus terminus would ease the traffic congestion in the hill resort.

"We have begun cutting down the trees at the proposed construction site," said Srikant Baldi, managing director, Himachal Roadways Transport Corporation (HRTC).

"Some 1,500 truck loads of debris will be removed from the site and dumped outside the town so that the new ISBT will be ready in the next 18 months," Baldi said.

The state government has already paid Rs.100 million to Delhi-based Khan Construction Ltd for the work.

The need for a second ISBT here was felt for many years as the current ISBT in the heart of the town has very little space for parking.

As it is located in the heart of the city, the stream of inter-state buses leading to it causes frequent traffic jams in the narrow winding roads of the hill station, causing inconvenience to both residents and hordes of tourists who throng this resort town round the year.