Terminal remedy to traffic mess in Berhampur city

Berhampur Development Authority (BDA) has identified the required land at Haldiapadar on the city outskirts to build a new bus terminal for Berhampur. “A high-level meeting has approved the site and we are in the process of selecting a consultant for the project,” Kishen Kumar, Ganjam collector and vice-chairman of the Berhampur Development Authority, said. Bus terminal at Haldiapadar is expected to tackle traffic congestion in the city. Long-route buses will not be allowed to enter the city and passengers can avail themselves of city or town buses. The development authority is optimistic about this project, he said.

There are currently two bus stands in Berhampur. However, the Odisha State Road Transport Company has ceased to operate from the Old Bus Stand at Barracks, and now, taxis and auto rickshaws are using the space. Company and the private buses are operating from the New Bus Stand.  “We would use the New Bus Stand as the City Bus Terminus,” Kumar said. “We are in the process of introducing the city bus service between Berhampur and Chhatrapur and Gopalpur before August. The state government has decided to procure 28 buses. However, the management will be in Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode like that in Bhubaneswar and Puri,” he said. The development authority is also undertaking two bus terminuses at Chhatrapur and Gopalpur, and a Mumbai-based company Crisil has been appointed as the transaction advisor. It has already done preliminary study, he said. Source: The Telegraph