First AC bus stop in Kolkata to open next week

Residents of this eastern metropolis will get a breather in the sweltering heat at Kolkata's first air-conditioned bus stop, slated to be inaugurated next week, a municipal official said Friday.

The Lake Town bus stop, a glass-encased structure with seating arrangements, under the South Dum Dum municipality in the north-eastern fringes of Kolkata, will become functional early next week, municipality vice chairman Sujit Bose said.

He said the new bus stand will have security measures for women and will be shut after buses stop plying on the route at night.

"We will have to look after maintenance properly... this will be replicated in other parts of the city later," said Bose, who is also a legislator.

With the Met officials forecasting a relative humidity of 85 to 89 percent in the next two days, the new bus stop seems to be well-timed.