PANAJI
Already a month past the January 19 launch date for its ambitious new transport service system the 'Smart City Mission' for Panaji both on intra-city routes as well as those between its suburbs like St Cruz, Taleigao, Dona Paula and Bambolim, the plan has suffered a fresh hurdle – delays and poor progress in setting up the 36 state-of-the-art shelters at bus stops.
A handful of these that were set up, equipped with provisions for display of information related to the routes and number of trips besides QR Code based digital ticketing kiosks and public announcement systems, have also been dismantled.
These 'smart' bus shelters have also come under attack from within the State government itself with Panaji MLA Atanasio (Babush) Monserrate shooting off a letter to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant raising fault with the design, flagging inadequate space in these shelters and virtually insinuating a scam.
Sawant is chairperson of the Imagine Panaji Smart City Development Limited (IPSCDL), the special purpose vehicle set up by the government to execute the ‘Smart City Mission’ for Panaji.
Monserrate is also a member of the Board of Directors of IPSCDL and has alleged in his letter to Sawant that the poorly designed “smart bus stations” are a ruse to steal public funds.
He has sought an urgent meeting to discuss the issue besides others involving the ‘smart city’ project including completion deadlines of the ongoing sewerage and smart road work in the city.
Another bone of contention picked by Monserrate is the usurping of the advertisement rights through this smart bus shelters, otherwise the domain of the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) which incidentally he politically controls and is headed by his son Rohit Monserrate as mayor.
Monserrate said that the agreement executed by KTCL, which will operate the new bus-transport service and Primeslots Events Pvt Ltd, will lead to a “colossal loss of revenue” for the CCP.
Meanwhile, the ongoing work in the capital where multiple of the city’s thoroughfare roads have been excavated is hampering the launch of the new city transport service on the seven routes.
KTCL is already in possession of 42 new buses – large (49 seater) and small (26 seater) electric buses, diesel-powered mini buses (30 seaters), electrical micro buses (14 seater) and electric buggies (11 seater).
Over 50 permit holders who are currently operating on these routes have also been put on notice that their permits will cancel as soon as the new service is launched.
