Illegal bus shelters to go

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The city corporation will soon launch a drive to remove all the illegal bus shelters that have sprung up along various roads in the city.

The bus shelters have been set up by various private agencies without the knowledge of the civic authorities or the Public Works Department (PWD), the two bodies authorised to construct bus shelters.

“We’ll soon initiate strict measures to rein in the mushrooming illegal bus shelters in the city. As a case is pending in the high court, involving the corporation and PWD, regarding the right to set up bus shelters, illegal shelters can be removed once the case is settled.

The court verdict is expected within one or two weeks,” said K.S. Subhash, town planning officer. However, the civic body is yet to collect details of such structures in the city.

Advertisement space on shelters is in high demand and there are widespread allegations that a big mafia is behind setting up illegal bus shelters. The bus shelters are constructed not for the people’s benefit but for the advertisers, it is alleged.

“Unauthorised shelters have been constructed along corporation and PWD roads. Once, the HC pronounces the verdict, we’ll scrap all illegal shelters along the roads owned by the corporation,” added the town planning officer.

Interestingly, most of these bus shelters are of no use to the passengers. Meanwhile, following the controversy over illegal shelters, some agencies have scrapped the illegal structures set up in bus stops.

Earlier, the local body’s ambitious plan to construct 51 modern bus shelters in the city was stalled as the PWD started to set up shelters in areas which were identified by the corporation. This resulted in a legal tug of war between the two bodies.

The private agencies that have set up unauthorised bus shelters collect money for advertisements on such facilities. Corporation officials said that the civic body was losing lakhs of rupees in revenue on account of the illegal bus shelters.