KSRTC depot: Cramped road ahead

Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus
station-cum-shopping complex on Mavoor Road still lying
incomplete two years past its deadline.
The multi-crore Kerala State Road Transport Corporation
(KSRTC) bus station-cum-shopping complex, still lying
incomplete two years past its deadline, is meant to be a
watershed project for public transport in Malabar. But
officials say the depot may be cramped for future
development and expansion plans of the public transport
body.
The complex, clothed in scaffolding, is a mammoth grey
presence in the chaotic landscape of Mavoor Road. KSRTC
officials in Kozhikode say the complex, being constructed
by the Kerala State Transport Development Finance
Corporation Ltd. on a build-operate-transfer basis, will be
ready for public use in the next six months. But they add a
rider.
“The depot will have space to park only about 40 buses. We
have a daily traffic of 115 buses, including those coming
from other States,” a senior KSRTC official says.
Officials say Mavoor Road is already congested. Added to
this, the monorail project has a landing stop at the depot-
cum-complex, resulting in a huge increase in vehicular
traffic and footfall. Future inclusion of low-floor buses will
leave little as maintenance and garage space at complex,
they say.
Now there are 173 scheduled bus services in the zone
comprising Kozhikode, Wayanad, and Kannur districts.
Scheduled trips can be up to 300 km.
“An alternative is a 2.43-acre land, currently used as a
temporary depot at Pavangad in Elathur panchayat here.
This plot was rented by the KSRTC in 2009 from the Kerala
Water Authority when construction for the Mavoor Road
project started,” V.S. Saju, Zonal Officer, KSRTC,
Kozhikode, says.
But Kozhikode (North) MLA, A. Pradeep Kumar, who has
been pushing for the timely completion of the Mavoor depot,
says the complex offers optimum use of space for KSRTC.
“Earlier, buses used to be parked in a disorderly manner. A
lot of space was wasted that way. The complex offers
planned use of space in the three-acre plot,” he said. Even
so Mr. Pradeep Kumar agrees additional space is required
for future growth.
“Pavangad plot is a good option. There is also a three-acre
plot in Nadakkavu currently used by KSRTC as a workshop.
The machinery used there is worn-out. This space can be
converted into an additional terminal for city buses,” he
says.
He expressed doubts about the official version that the
work on Mavoor Road depot will be completed in six
months.
“Electrification work is in the tender stage. A technical
issue has cropped up on the project’s plan approval. Land
documents show the area for the Mavoor Road depot is a
total 3.20 acre. But when the depot plan was prepared, it
shows only 3 acres. Twenty cents of land is missing. It
must have gone in the widening of the Mavoor Road. A
decision is awaited on this issue,” the MLA says.