The Karunamoyee bus stand is set to get revamped with better toilets, sheds and waiting areas for passengers.
The biggest bus terminus in Salt Lake, from where several long-distance buses start for places like Siliguri, Digha, Durgapur and Asansol, besides regular city buses, lacks basic passenger amenities now.
The bus station can house over 50 buses at a time.
A state transport department official said a waiting lounge for passengers and a new public toilet complex will be constructed.
Sheds for passengers will also be set up where people can wait before the buses start.
The existing boundary wall will be refurbished and CCTV cameras will be installed, the official said.
Now, the bus stand has a very run-down toilet that remains unclean on most days and people avoid using it.
A series of stalls and shacks occupy pavement spaces inside the bus terminus.
There are next to no waiting sheds or shelters for passengers who arrive at the terminus before the buses are scheduled to start.
For long-distance bus passengers, there are no waiting areas barring a few chairs placed inside the booking offices of the bus operators.
Biswajit Pal, a resident of New Town, who travels home to Asansol every weekend, said passengers have to brave the elements if the bus they are supposed to board is not at the stand in time.
“This becomes very taxing during hot sunny days and during rain. The bus stand does not have a single passenger shelter. We are often forced to take refuge under plastic sheds of stalls of hawkers,” said Pal.
