Mangalore : Minister in-charge for Dakshina Kannada district and Forests, Environment and Ecology B. Ramanath Rai, on Saturday, directed the Mangalore City Corporation (MCC) to initiate the construction work of the service bus-stand near Pump Well by inviting consultancy services.

Speaking at district level progress review meeting at the DC office on May 31, Saturday, the minister said that priority should be given to provide all basic infrastructural facilities at the bus terminus. The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) to explore possibilities of constructing satellite bus stations, Also, sites should also be identified for bus terminuses at Suratkal and Talapady.

MCC Superintending Engineer Kantharaj said since a patch of land was required to construct a four-lane approach road, the remaining space available might not be sufficient to build a full-fledged bus station. However, many present at the meeting felt that the bus station should be constructed on the available land as finding another area would be time-consuming.

Deputy Commissioner A.B. Ibrahim said the issue had been pending for long and needed to be resolved at the earliest.

Mr. Ibrahim asked the MCC to be ready with the tender documents for consultancy services by June 14, the next date for review meeting.

Further Mr. Ibrahim informed the gathering that applications from KSRTC, to issue permits to operate buses to Udupi, Karkala and other places and city bus services in Mangalore, were pending before the Regional Transport Authority (RTA). Incidentally Mr. Ibrahim is the chairman of the RTA and he explained that private operators had been against the applications.

KSRTC’s Divisional Controller Mahesh said that the corporation would get 35 buses for Mangalore and 30 buses for Udupi for the city services. The corporation was also constructing a separate depot to maintain these buses at Kuntikan, he added.

Responding to this, Mr. Rai said that the corporation and the RTA should work together to ensure convenience. He asked the RTA to consider KSRTC’s applications to protect public interest. Wherever there was demand, the RTA should consider issuing permits to KSRTC, he said.

MCC Commissioner Ajith Kumar Hegde, MLA Moidin Bava, SP Dr Sharanappa, Sadashiva Prabhu and other officials were concerned.