Visakhapatnam: Even as its fresh deadline is fast approaching, work on the the Bus Rapid Transit System has to be completed in several parts of the city. Officials, however, have decided to launch the system from October 2. The Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation had taken up the 43.36-km BRTS about seven years ago in two corridors under the JNNURM at a cost of '452.9 crore to ease traffic woes by providing an intelligent transport system with dedicated lanes for RTC buses.
Work on the 2-km stretch between Patha Adavivaram and Gosala near Simhachalam has been stalled by an ongoing land dispute. The GVMC is yet to lay two-lane service roads — work has been completed on only one lane — in some pockets of the BRTS, such as in the Convent Junction-NAD Road section. The single-lane service roads can permit two-way travel, but is not wide enough in most places to allow vehicles to pass one another.
In the initial years, the deadlock over the land acquisition from railways, defence and private parties had delayed the project. Now, the land dispute near Simhachalam and some issues near Lakshmi Narasimha Nagar, Chandrapuri Colony and other areas are blocking the GVMC’s aim to achieve 100 per cent completion. Recently, district collector Pravin Kumar directed the officials to complete the works until the right of way area, leaving the disputed land behind to initiate the project by October 2.
Meanwhile, a team with officials from various departments would visit Ahmadabad to study the BRTS project. To provide a seamless experience to the commuters and make it technology-integrated, the GVMC would set up electronic passenger information system, ticket booking system and GPRS system at the bus stops in a phased manner once the BRTS comes into operation.
When contacted, executive engineer (BRTS), V. Sudhakar Rao, informed that other than the 2-km stretch, 98 per cent works were completed. “We are ready to launch the BRTS corridor anytime soon. Some service roads are pending at few places, which will be completed soon,” Mr Sudhakar Rao added.
