Residents of Bahour want govt. to open mini bus stand and indoor stadium soon

The Hindu

3 days ago

Residents of Bahour, outlying the town, are yet to benefit from a mini bus stand and indoor stadium as the two projects await government nod for a formal opening in spite of the construction work being completed months ago.
The bus stand near Sri Moolanathar Temple, which was constructed at a cost of around ₹2 crore under the Centre's Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Rurban Mission (SPMRM) was one of the long-pending demands of residents. The entire construction was over in January, giving hopes to the daily commuters of ending their ordeal of waiting for buses out in the open. 'It is more than four months since the work is over. Even road laying works have been completed. Now,people use this place for drinking and whiling away their time. We can only see empty liquor and water bottles. If it remains idle for some more time, it will become a dump ing yard and a place for all unlawful activities,' said a local resident. He said around 20 buses operate in the route but people have to stand out in the open under the hot sun and during heavy rain as the bus stand is not open.
Just a stone's throw away is anotherinfrastructure project waiting to be inaugurated even though construction was over almost a year ago.
Thestadium funded by the Airports Authority of India under its Corporate Social Responsibility programme was aimed at providing a training ground for local youth and school students in indoor sports such as badminton, kho-kho, kabaddi and basketball.
'Bahour has produced several sports persons for Puducherry. The place is traditionally known for sporting activity many children show keen interest in games. At present, there are around 200 students from the area who travel daily to Puducherry to use indoor stadiums in the town for trainingThere are also students who cannot afford travelling to the town daily for training. The mini stadium was of great importance to the youth of Bahour,' said Anbarassan, a kho-kho player.
'The situation in the bus stand and stadium ist quite similar. There is no proper lighting so there is every chance of people misusing the place,' said a resident.
When contacted, local MLA Senthil Kumar said he has taken up with government the necessity to open both the facilities at the earliest.
'Both are important for the people of Bahour. I will request the government once again to speed up the inauguration so that the facilities can be put to public use,' he said.