Plan to renovate Shimla's bus terminal on card

A plan is expected to be ready in the next few days to suggest ways to modernise and build parking space and other facilities at the old bus terminal in Shimla.

A four-member committee will submit a report by the end of this month to the government, sources said.

Besides modernising the bus station, increasing parking space and raising at least one storey of the main building are expected.

The entire work is expected to take a couple of years, transport officials say.

The old bus stand in Shimla mostly plies local buses but congestion has grown over the years. This, in turn, clogs Shimla's busy adjoining circular road.

It was Shimla's inter-state bus terminal until a few years ago and was shifted on the outskirts at Tutti Kandi to get the town rid of traffic congestion.

Authorities here have been struggling with traffic congestion and lacking parking space for many years.

Three parking lots are being constructed near the high court, at Chotta, Shimla and Sanjauli.

Creating parking space and wider roads is difficult in the terrain of Shimla.

Many tourists avoid Shimla due to this reason even though Shimla remains a popular destination for holiday-makers round the year.