Introduction:

Pithoragarh district is the easternmost Himalayan district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is naturally landscaped with high Himalayan mountains, snow-capped peaks, passes, valleys, alpine meadows, forests, waterfalls, perennial rivers, glaciers, and springs.

Pithoragarh is not connected by any direct train services, however it is connected by road, The National Highway 9 passes through Pithoragarh. Landslides and cloudbursts, caused by heavy rains that fall during the summer monsoon, often interrupt  transportation networks.Haldwani and Tanakpur are two entry points for entering Pithoragarh by road. Both are connected by railway services, the nearest railway stations being Tanakpur (151 km) and  Kathgodam (212 km).

Proposal:

It is proposed that a new bus station with modern facilities and bigger available area be built for the passengers of Pithoragarh.

Current Status:

At present Pithoragarh has 02 Bus Stations:

(a)        Uttarakhand Roadways Lower Bus Station

(b)        Kumaon Motor Owners Union (KMOU) Limited Bus Station: KMOU Ltd was established as a Private Company in 1939 at Kathgodam by merging 13 Companies. At present KMOU has 7 major Stations (Haldwani, Bageshwar,Ramnagar, Champawat,Ranikhet, Almora and Pithoragarh) and 24 Sub Stations

There are approximate 108 buses in Pithoragarh Roadways.

 

Justification For A New Bus Station:

 

(i)                  Lack of Convenience at Bus Station: The buildings of both the bus especially Uttarakhand Roadways is very old and do not have adequate facilities for travellers/ passengers such as refreshment and drinking water availability,toilets, rest rooms and sitting arrangements.The ticket booking system is also very slow and time consuming as majority of office equipments like computers and printers are unserviceable condition. There is no WiFi Internet facility for waiting passengers at the bus station.The road journey in the hills is always tiring, hectic and cumbersome and the motion sickness makes it even more difficult.

(ii)                Conditions of Majority of State Road Transport Buses is Poor: Approximately 45 of the buses with Pithoragarh depot need urgent repair work.Tyres of majority of buses are in bad shape.There is acute shortage of tyres in the Depot as a result of which many of buses remain stationed at the depot and do not ply making the transportation experience very bad for the passengers. The shortage of buses means that there is hardly any time for the maintenance and cleaning of the buses and hence they are mostlydirty and unhygienic as motion sickness of passengers make the buses dirty and smelling foul. Since the buses are not maintained well many times the buses breakdown in the midst of journey which delay the completion of journey for passengers. Students aspirants of appearing in competitive exams have missed their exams on many occasions as a result of the sudden breakdown of buses.

 

(iii)                Poor Condition of Roads: The condition of road is also not good and in dilapidated condition. Due to frequent natural calamities, heavy rains and inclement weather, landslides are common phenomenon resulting in road blocks bringing the movement of buses and vehicles to complete standstill

 

(iv)              Frequency of Bus Services Is Not Adequate: The frequency of Bus services connecting far flung areas to Tankpur and Kathgdam is not sufficient. Due to this the buses are always crowded.

 

(v)                Location of Bus Stations Leads to Traffic Jam In the City: The location of both the bus stations is in the center of the city and on the main road. The movement of bus hence always leads to trafficjam in the city of Pithoragh which only has one raod for conveyance. Hence it is needed to shift and built the bus station in a new open area.