Shops hit as waste piles up at RTC station
The premises of the KSRTC Central bus station at Thampanoor appears to have been overlooked by agencies engaged in sanitation works.
Five condemned buses, parked in a wall-like manner near shops on the western side of the Amayizhanjan canal, have turned the area into a virtual dump. With putrid stench and leachate emanating from the garbage, business has come to a standstill for the traders.
The situation is suspected to be closely linked with an ongoing tussle between the State-run utility and the traders regarding efforts made by the former to construct a wall to secure its property. Following vehement objection from the traders, the buses have been parked in a manner that isolated the 23 shops since August 2017.
The buses, deemed scrap by the KSRTC, have remained there ever since. Mounds of garbage have gradually formed in the area.
Fall in sales
“The condemned buses deny the public access to our shops. Now, the accumulation of garbage has compounded the issue. Our clientele are mostly commuters who frequent the bus station. Not many visit our shops these days. Owing to a drastic fall in sales, many traders recently rented out their outlets, unable to bear the running expenses,” Suresh Babu, who runs a footwear shop, said.
Another trader R. Vijayakumar added that the abandoned buses and a rundown bus shelter have become a haven for antisocial elements. With no monitoring by the police, the area has become unsafe for passengers of late, according to him.
Numerous petitions submitted to the district administration and the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation to address the issue have failed to yield result, the traders say.
