ALAPPUZHA: Twelve-storey modern bus terminal-cum-shopping mall, opened on June 6, 2015, with much fanfare in Thiruvalla has become a scarecrow with no takers for shopping spaces. An official at the KSRTC depot here said an escalator brought there remained unattached and getting dusted. The Rs 41.38-crore complex with a plinth area of nearly 2 lakh sq ft has two basement floors exclusively for vehicle parking. The ground floor is bus terminal, and all other levels dedicated for commercial purposes.
“But we don’t know the reason why it remains dysfunctional. The KTDFC should answer. The major business groups were not interested as it's not centrally air-conditioned, So far, only 24 rooms were rented out," the official said. Water resources Mathew T. Thomas launched the project across the state in 2006 when he was the transport minister, and the work on the complex here started in August 2010. A four-storey building that houses garage, administrative office, and retiring rooms for the staff is also ready on the 2.96-acre premises.
