Location for bus stand haunts authorities in Mysore

The location for the Mysore City bus stand continues to haunt the officials of both the transport and the revenue in Mysore,

The issue is in a quagmire for nearly half a century. Presently located at the K R Circle, what was a part of the Curzon Park half a century back, controversy has raised its head again, with a proposal made by the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and the Mysore City Corporation last week to shift it to the People’s Park and the NGOs opposing the move.

The proposal to shift the bus stand was made as the office of the Heritage Commissioner have sought shifting of the KSRTC city bus stand from abutting the historic Mysore Palace to protect the heritage structure from exhaust and dust these buses and other vehicles throw up. Except this portion, the rest of the outer area around the Palace Fort is preserved as a garden.

Funds are also available for improving the transport infrastructure in the city, for construction of modern bus stands under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), which the KSRTC and the Mysore City Corporation (MCC) want to avail. Accordingly, they have drawn up plans and initiated work for building modern bus terminals with good infrastructural facilities.

Meanwhile, the heritage authorities have proposed under the JNNURM funding improvements to the heritage structures of Mysore at a cost of Rs. 2.9 crore and development of the heritage core zone at a cost of Rs. 51.82 crore to ensure that the heritage character of Mysore is conserved.

A few years back, the proposal to construct a modern public library building in the People’s Park was dropped after public opposition on grounds that it would violate the Supreme Court verdicts on maintenance of public parks and spaces. Prior to that, the moves to locate the bus stand at J K Grounds had met the same fate.

Now also NGOs are opposing the proposal on similar grounds.

They maintain that the location of the bus stand either at the People’s Park or the J K Grounds, now under possession of the Mysore Medical College as a sports ground, would violate the Karnataka Parks, Playfields and Open Spaces (Preservation and Regulation) Act, 1985 and Section 39 of the Karnataka Urban Development Authorities Act, 1987. They restrict conversion of any park, public open place or a portion of it for other purposes.

Even the NGOs lack unanimity as to the location of the bus stand, while opposing it at the People’s Park.

The Association of Concerned and Informed Citizens of Mysore (ACICM) favours shifting of the bus stand to the Banni Mantap grounds, where it says the KSRTC has about 46 acres.

On the other hand, the Mysore Grahaka Parishat (MGP), another NGO, is of the opinion that the city bus stand could be accommodated at the KSRTC mofussil bus stand on the Bangalore-Nilgiri Road. It could be shifted later to a convenient location on the outer ring road and ease the traffic pressure on the city roads.