Under Vellore Corporation’s new project, the city will soon have modernised stainless steel bus shelters, to be carried-out at an estimated cost of `3.5 crore.

“This effort is part of developmental activities aimed at refurbishing the city as it has been upgraded into a Corporation in August 2008,” said Vellore Mayor P Karthiyayini.

“Modernising the bus shelters and leasing out the space for advertisement will increase the revenue of the local body,” she added. This will also address the traffic problem caused by the increasing number of hoardings at the bus shelters, she noted.

Town Planning Officer M Kannan said, “A total of 102 bus shelters, including 15 new shelters near Sarathi Maaligai commercial complex, have been identified under the project. It would be carried out under the Build-Operate-Transfer model, through which the contractors will construct the shelters according to the design specifications of the civic body, operate it for a certain period and then transfer it to the Corporation.”

The new shelter will have stainless steel roofing with steel seating arrangement, apart from facilities including digital boards to display the bus schedule. This is similar to the shelters on the Marina Beach Road in Chennai, he said.

The renovation work originally began in 2011. Since no bidder came forward to take up the tender citing high costs, stainless steel shelters were planned in around 50 important locations and main roads, each at a cost of around `5 lakh, while mild steel shelters each costing around `2 lakh were planned for the interior areas, Kannan added.

A resolution regarding the modernisation of the bus shelters has already been passed at the Traffic Committee Meeting and the work would start soon, after an approval and a designing specification for the bus shelter was received from the Commissionerate of Municipal Administration, he said.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / Home> States> Tamil Nadu /  by Express News Service – Vellore / March 17th, 2013