Even as there has been a strong demand to shift Birsa Munda Interstate Bus Terminus at Khadgarha, located right in the middle of the capital, for quite some time, the State Government has apparently no immediate plan to 'oblige' them.
According to sources, the government is working on preparing a Master plan for the city's development, but it is sitting idle on the "comprehensive mobility plan" which is ideally developed alongwith the development plan. The comprehensive mobility plan usually deals with vehicular mobility in the city with special emphasis on the location of originating stations from city transport system.
"The comprehensive mobility will be developed after the Ranchi Master Plan. If there is any plan to relocate the bus terminus then it will be covered in this plan," Urban Development Secretary Ajoy Kumar Singh told The Pioneer. Birsa Munda bus stand happens to be main interstate bus terminus in Jharkhand where from around 250 buses bound for Jamshedpur, Bhubaneswar, Calcutta, Durgapur, Dhanbad, Bokaro, Chaibasa, Patna, Gaya, Muzzaffarpur, among others, originate and arrive from.
However, the bus stand has earned the sobriquet for one of the busiest roads of the Ranchi, known as the Old HB Road, as the most hated road in the entire city. The bus-terminus has not only added to traffic congestion on Ranchi-Ramgarh road and Ranch-Jamshedpur Road but has affected lives of people living in its vicinity.
Houses covered in thick layer of dust, smell of human waste spread everywhere, buses honking horn, autorickshaws stopping at will on the approach road to the bus stand overly populated few places has forced the residents, ordinary and high profile alike, to press for relocating the notorious stand out of the city.
Former Advocate General of Jharkhand and eminent lawyer, Sohail Anwar who lives at a stone's throw distance from the bus terminus, has a made a strong case for relocating the terminus out of the city. Anwar is among several other voices who want the place to once again become fit for living.
"Sound and air pollution is very high in the area. Buses are parked on the road leading to traffic congestion. I don't know what has happened to the relocation plan but it should be shifted out of the city," maintained Anwar.
The Federation of Jharkhand Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FJCCI) supported the demands of relocating the Khadgarha bus stand from it existing place. According to the FJCCI the relocating the bus stand will ultimately help in reducing pressure of city roads making plying more pleasing. "There is no harm in relocating the bus stand to decongest city roads. Something better will come up at the place," said FJCCI president Bikash Kumar Singh.
Interestingly, the Jharkhand State Pollution Control Board (JSPCB) after measuring the ambient pollution near Khadgarha had found almost double level of RSPM (Resolute Suspended Particulate Matter) while the gaseous pollution hovered around the normal level. "Pollution near Khadgarha is high and is at the same level as it is in Ratu Road," said A K Sinha, official of JSPCB.
The board had conducted pollution check around May-June, 2013 at 100 meters away from the Khadgarha bus stand. As per standards, the normal level for RSPM is fixed at 100 mg/cubic meter while for gaseous substance the normal level is fixed at 60 mg/cubic meter. Incidentally, plans were made on two occasions to shift the bus stand- first in 2008-09 and another one in the Ranchi Master Plan that is still in the design phase. While the earlier plan which was made by Ranchi Regional Development Authority in 2008-9 had proposed shifting the bus terminus to Namkum, as per the current proposal the terminus is proposed to move to Cherri-Manatu.
Amid the demands for relocating the bus stand, the Ranchi Municipal Corporation inaugurated beautification work at the terminus. In July, the municipal body had taken up the responsibility of maintaining the terminus besides beginning a series of beautification work to improve passenger experience.