Day after inaugural,new-look ISBT returns to its old ways

But just a day later,the terminal was a picture of inefficiency and disarray. Stray dogs were spotted inside the terminal building,people were found sleeping on the shiny tiles for lack of sufficient seats,flies swarmed overflowing toilets,a pile of garbage was found behind a scenic painting of the Kashmere Gate,information kiosks and Wi-Fi facility were non-functional,and there was complete absence of security.

There were no security personnel in the terminal and baggage items were not screened. People skipping metal detectors were not checked and commuters entered routinely through “no entry” gates.

Many commuters were disappointed,annoyed by the government’s “tall claims”. Vikas Singh,a 26-year-old engineer who travels to Patiala every fortnight,felt the fancy signboards,the LCD screens,the swanky elevators,and the shiny tiles were just “an eyewash”.

“What is the point of this swankiness if travel is not made hassle-free? There are no announcements made about delays in schedule and no boards to display how many seats have been filled in a bus. There is no screening of baggage. So,how can this terminal be compared to an airport?” he said.

Sonia Pandey (28) was less harsh. She compared the Kashmere Gate ISBT to the terminus in her hometown,Kanpur. “This one is far cleaner and better organised,but it doesn’t look new,despite being opened on Thursday,” she said. The toilets had left her especially unimpressed,with the “flushes not working”. She said she also had difficulty finding the ticket counter for Himachal Pradesh. “There should be boards to display which state a counter represents,” she said.

Curiously,most commuters missed the LCD screens displaying departure timing and bay numbers for buses. Sophie and Sarah,two British tourists headed to Manali,said,“We just asked around,and found our way to the bus.”

So,is the terminal really world-class? Careful not to embarrass their hosts,they said,“By India’s standards and compared to the railway stations in the country,it is not that bad.”

Transport Minister Ramakant Goswami admitted that certain flaws had been brought to the Delhi government’s notice.

“There are a few flaws that need to be ironed out,including cleanliness and the public address system and communications. We have already scheduled a meeting on Monday with all relevant departments to sort out the issues as soon as possible,” Goswami said.

He said DIMTS had been made the nodal authority to fix the problems.

Transport officials said maintenance of the building will temporarily be carried out by Delhi Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation through private contractors till a company is hired permanently.