Vyttila Bus Stand

Kerala

Land sought for Vytilla bus terminal

Staff Reporter

Proposal to be submitted to Minister for Agriculture today

KOCHI: A meeting, convened by the Ernakulam District Panchayat, on Thursday to discuss the possibility of developing a bus terminal on land owned by Kerafed as well as the panchayat at Vyttila suggested that the proposed terminal be used only for long-haul buses.

District panchayat president P.S. Shyla said the meeting decided to submit the proposal for the terminal to Minister for Agriculture Mullakkara Ratnakaran on Friday, because part of the land belonged to Kerafed (Kerala Kera Karshaka Sahakarana Federation).

She said the panchayat had 2.8 hectares of land for the project, and another 3.2 hectares needed to be acquired from Kerafed. The project report, filed by ICICI-Kinfra, had proposed that a world-class bus terminal could be built on 6 hectares of land.

The proposal envisages setting up of 60 bus bays and other facilities initially. According to the blueprint, up to 2.5 lakh passengers can be served by the terminal. There has been a suggestion that all buses linking Kochi and its suburbs and other parts of the State use the proposed terminal. Buses using the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation's central terminal in Ernakulam South and the boat jetty and Kaloor stands can be diverted to the new terminal.

However, the meeting felt that it would be more practical to use the proposed facility only for long-haul buses. Ms. Shyla said the present terminals in Ernakulam South and Kaloor would not be disturbed.

The proposal has been hanging fire for a while, but only a Cabinet decision will make way for its implementation. The estimated cost is around Rs. 30 crores. A commercial complex, with 58 shops, will be built at the terminal. Deputy Mayor C.K. Manishankar; Managing Director of Kerafed P.M. Harindran and General Manager of ICICI-Kinfra (Project Development), George Abraham were among those who participated in the meeting.
(The Hindu, Friday, August 4, 2006)