Bhubaneswar ISBT flagged off; Know amenities available at this terminal

Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today inaugurated Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar Bus Terminal at Baramunda in Odisha capital here.

“The newly-constructed bus terminal will provide better facilities to the passengers and become an important landmark in the capital city as well as in Odisha,” said the Chief Minister at the inaugural ceremony.

The state government named the interstate bus terminal (ISBT) after BR Ambedkar to pay tribute to the father of Indian Constitution, he added.

“A gallery has been set up at the bus terminal to make people aware of the contribution of BR Ambedkar to the country,” said the Chief Minister.

The Chief Minister thanked all stakeholders including the bus owners, shopkeepers of Baramunda and passengers for their cooperation for the construction of the bus terminal.

The bus terminal has been equipped with facilities like commercial complex, escalator, lift, waiting room, police outpost, rest room for drivers, Aahaar centre and food court, he said.

The Chief Minister flagged off bus service from the newly-built terminal and served food to the passengers at the Aahaar centre.

Housing and Urban Development (H&UD) Minister Usha Devi, Science and Technology Minister Ashok Chandra Panda, MLAs Ananta Narayan Jena and Sushant Rout, Mayor Sulochana Das and 5T chairman VK Pandian among others were present on the occasion.

H&UD department Additional Chief Secretary G. Mathi Vathanan gave the welcome address and Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) vice-chairman Balwant Singh proposed the vote of thanks.

The bus terminal, built over around 17 acres of land, can handle 30,000 passengers and 700-800 buses on daily basis.

The terminal has 44 active bus bays, six bays for city buses and 111 idle bays for parking.

Passengers can get acilities like dormitory, drinking water kiosks, cloak room, pre-paid auto-rickshaw service, ATM and baby feeding room at the ground floor of the bus terminal.

Facilities like multi-cuisine food court, Aahaar Centre, Mission Shakti kiosk, children’s play area, wellness centre, police outpost, control command centre, OTDC travel kiosk and BR Ambedkar gallery at the first floor of the bus terminal.

The ISBT has as many as 122 shops on its premises and parking facilities for at least 100 auto-rickshaws, 20 taxis and 85 two-wheelers.