Operation clean up: Chinese to renovate Haji Camp bus station

Commuters complain municipal corporation makes revenue but does nothing

PESHAWAR: A Chinese company has offered to renovate K-P’s largest commute point, Haji Camp bus station, which is currently in no state to serve as a stop for passengers travelling between cities in the province and other parts of the country.

Talks are under way between the company and the municipal corporation.

The government also approved Rs4 billion in its Annual Development Programme but is trying to persuade the Chinese company to work on a build-operate-transfer basis, said a senior official of the corporation, requesting anonymity. “But there are some hurdles as the company is reluctant to accept the proposed condition.”

When contacted, Minister for Local Government Inayatullah Khan said the government would renovate the bus station if the company failed to approve a separate fund for the bus stand.

About revenue generation, he said it is not above Rs100 million and during the previous government the contractors were able to make millions by charging each vehicle entering the bus station.

“When we took over the ministry, we reviewed the contracts with a view to generate more revenue,” he added. “Now the bus station alone generates around Rs270 million.”

He said his ministry will try to increase it by constructing a bus station that is at par with international standards with all kinds of facilities.

Travellers’ woes

The dilapidated state of the bus station has earned the ire of many.

“This is the bus stand from where you can go to any city in the country but look at its condition,” a resident of Upper Dir, Sufian Asad, told The Express Tribune while pointing towards a heap of garbage. “It seems as if we are in a cattle market.”

He said the provincial government generates millions in revenue from the bus station but seems unwilling to spend even a penny on maintenance.

“We are bound to pay Rs750,000 daily to the municipal corporation whether we generate profits or not,” said Azmat Khan, manager of the bus station.

He said private contractors take charge of the bus stand every year to run the affairs and pay Rs270 million to the corporation.

Grimy stop

Since contractors pay money to the corporation, the bus station should have been made a clean place but the entire station is littered and people relieve themselves anywhere they deem fit as there are also no toilets.

Officials of Water and Sanitation Services Peshawar are least bothered to clean the place.

The stench of urine makes it difficult for visitors to breathe inside the station and when it rains, water accumulates inside and stands for weeks, forcing people to wade through it.

Moreover, there are wires hanging loose from the poles, exposing people to hazards. There are also no security arrangements at the station.

“Police personnel are not deployed and neither is there a CCTV camera,” said traveller Sajid Azhar. “This speaks volumes about the government’s indifference.”

A mechanic at a stand nearby, Sultan Sikander, said, “There are no proper lights and the whole bus stand remains in darkness through the night.”

Published in The Express Tribune, August 16^th, 2015.