Siliguri, 21st August: The construction of a new bus stand at Tinbatti More has raised a cloud of uncertainty whether private local minibuses will ply from there or not. Siliguri Mayor Goutam Deb, accompanied by District Magistrate (DM) S. Ponnambalam and officials from the Municipal Corporation, convened a meeting with local bus owners. The focal point of discussion was the ongoing construction of a new bus stand at Tinbatti More. However, the bus owners had raised objections from the beginning concerning the proposed shift of the bus stand from Bagrakote to Tinbatti More.
Monday witnessed Mayor Goutam Deb’s renewed efforts as he engaged in another round of discussions with the bus owners. Regrettably, the meeting concluded without a definitive resolution, leaving the matter still up in the air. Mayor Deb shared that a proposal had been tabled before the bus owners, emphasising the city’s mounting traffic congestion as the key reason behind the decision to relocate the bus stand.
Contrariwise, the bus owners remained steadfast in their concerns, asserting that the shift to Tinbatti More would likely prove unfavorable for them as well as the commuters. They voiced apprehension that a significant portion of passengers might opt out of using the new bus stand, ultimately affecting ridership and passenger convenience. The bus owners called on the administration to carefully scrutinize the implications of such a relocation and consider the potential challenges it might pose to both passengers and their business operations.