Illegal transport stops leave Hyd traffic in chaos

Only one sanctioned, partly functional bus terminal exists in Sindh’s second largest city

HYDERABAD:

The bumpy, pit-ridden roads of Hyderabad have long carried the burden of inter- and intra-district public transport, often bringing traffic in the city to a standstill.

Part of the unusually high movement of such vehicles is a result of the 10 illegal transport terminals found by the district administration, in the absence of sanctioned inter-city ones.

In a city of over 2.5 million people, there is just one working bus stand authorised by the government, the Badin stop - and that, too, is only partly functional. The other, the Baldia stop, ceased operations in 2014 because it bordered the Hyderabad Central Prison.

And so, amid too few legitimate stops and too many illegitimate ones, there is chaos on the roads.

But the Hyderabad Regional Transport Authority (RTA), instead of taking action against the illegal transport hubs, has requested deputy commissioner (DC) Fuad Ghaffar Soomro to approve yet another ‘provisional’ pick and drop facility in the city.

In a letter to the provincial transport and mass transit secretary, the DC has sought legal standing for permitting such a facility.

"Can this office issue provisional permission for a pick and drop facility on designated routes?" he questioned in the letter, written on Tuesday.

Soomro pointed out that in a 2004 judgment, the Sindh High Court had ordered the district police to remove all unlawful stands, with the only permitted ones being the Badin and Baldia stops. He further asked whether the permission sought by the RTA was in violation of the court orders.

“Since 2004, the city has expanded considerably, and so have the needs and modes of urban transport. This calls for drastic policy reconsideration in sync with modern tools of mobility," he wrote.

In earlier correspondence over the same matter, dated September 16, the DC informed the secretary that the district's only functional and legal bus stand, the Badin stop, was also marred by poor management.

According to him, it was encroached by “land grabbers and notorious transporters, in connivance with Hyderabad Municipal Corporation [HMC] officials.” He added that the stand was being operated without administrative control and accountability.

Soomro lamented that the public was not being provided any facilities at the stop and recommended its management be handed over to the RTA.

Both the Baldia and Badin stops, under the HMC’s administration, were once located in the city’s outskirts, with the former lying close to the National and Super Highways and the latter near the roads leading from Hyderabad to Badin and Mirpurkhas.

The city’s rapid expansion, though, has left them both surrounded by mushrooming urban population.

The DC is of the view that new terminals should be set up in the district’s outskirts, with Hatri in Hyderabad rural - connecting the bypass road with the National Highway - as the preferred location.

“In the absence of any suitable facility, a number of illegal addas are thriving, not only depriving the government of sizable revenue but also leaving a bad impression on the public,” he complained.

Tacitly acknowledging the collusion of government officials in the illegal bus terminals’ operations, he stressed the need for the district police to identify a more pro-active approach against them.

According to the district administration, the unlawful terminals are operating at Market Tower, Hala Naka, Isra Hospital, the Benazir Bhutto flyover, Pathan Colony, Sabzi Mandi Chowk, Giddu Chowk, Agriculture Complex, Civil Hospital and FAW Motors areas. Many of them provide inter-city transport.

The DC also sought approval for setting up shelters at the designated stops as well as pick and drop points for passengers. He further proposed the establishment of a B-class public terminal.

"There is also dire need to regulate and facilitate intra-city transport by promoting shuttle services on various routes," he suggested, stressing the need for a comprehensive strategy.