AMBALA, JULY 11: Ambala Cantonment will have the biggest modern general bus stand of Haryana, which will be dedicated to the people by Chief Minister Bansi Lal tomorrow. With traffic increasing on the GT Road, the old bus stand, first of its kind in this region of joint Punjab, had become insufficient for catering to the requirements, although it was one of the best bus stands over 50 years ago.Being the nucleus of six National Highways, including the GT Road, Amblala-Sharanpur National Highway, Ambala-Hisar National Highway and three others, there was an urgent need to provide a bus stand, which could meet the increasing demand of vehicular traffic. Over 500 buses from Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi and the Union Territory of Chandigarh make a halt here, while many of these start from here and return daily. As the number of buses on these National Highways continue to increase, the present bus stand falls short of meeting the needs of vehicular traffic and in providing facilities to passengers.However, considering the town's importance, there being the headquarters of Army's 2 Corps, an Air Force station, divisional railway headquarters and postal and telecom circles, a proposal to expand the bus stand was taken up and its foundation stone was laid by the then chief minister about 10 years ago. But the proposal never took off as the then local legislator did not enjoy the patronage of the powers that be. The proposal was repeatedly shelved by successive governments till the present MLA, Ail Vij, took up the matter at every platform, including the floor of the Vidhan Sabha, where the chief minister made a commitment that it would be constructed.The new bus stand with 18 bays was approved by the government and its construction was started in February 1997, said PWD Engineer-in-Chief P. D. Singhal, who visited the bus stand with his team of chief engineers and other high officials yesterday. He said that finishing touches were being given for its opening tomorrow. It will accommodate 18 buses in these bays, besides providing parking space for about 50 extra buses at a time, Singhal said. The modern double story building has a waiting hall, toilets blocks, a restaurant, unloading platforms, 12 shops, a cloak room, booking counters, a post office, a police post and a dispensary with an ambulance service and a recovery van. There are offices for the general manager and the station superintendent, rest rooms for drivers and conductors, a cash room and a ticket room. Besides the police post, there is also a police barrack and lock-up room.The PWD officials said that the project was completed in over two years.Anil Vij said a Yatri Niwas would be constructed by converting the present bus stand building into a Yatri Niwas, which would provide lodging facilities for passengers. There is a proposal to provide a dormitory, deluxe rooms and a public address system linked to the railway station.Singhal said that a 4-laned service road had also been constructed to link the bus stand with the GT Road and other roads.
