MARGAO
Just hazard a guess on the state of affairs of the iconic old bus stand, Margao located right in the heart of the commercial capital?
Sheer apathy and neglect by the authorities has literally rendered the bus shelter at the old bus stand worse than a cow shed. Passengers using the old bus stand to catch buses to the villages in Salcete and outside have been left to fend for themselves for want of upkeep and maintenance of the bus stand.
In fact, while the roadside drain adjoining the old bus stand has been repaired and restored with new slabs, the bus shelter has been ignored and neglected by the authorities, raising questions whether the government has deliberately avoided a spruce up of the old bus stand to eventually shut it down for some project.
For, at the high level meeting called by the district Collector, South, a month ago, Margao MLA Digambar Kamat had told RTO officials to trace the notification that had closed the old bus stand for buses plying between the city and the Salcete villages.
A visit to the bus shelter at the old bus stand revealed the pathetic state of affairs. An elderly passenger was sitting on a laterite wall in the absence of any seating arrangements worth its name. A further glance at the bus shelter revealed that the dry tree branches have been dumped inside the shelter, while waste was found piled up at the other end.
GOACAN Coordinator Roland Martins and his team had taken up the repair of the bus stand with the authorities to restore the same to its past glory, but in vain.
