THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A gnawing, crawly menace is driving the staff at
KSRTC central bus terminal
to their wits end and the issue has bloated so much that missives seeking immediate intervention have been shot to district collector and the city mayor.
Rodents
thriving in conducive environs near Amayizhanjan canal and filth-filled-drains have invaded the halt room for the bus conductors and drivers, the garage, workshop, the back side of the diesel pump and the depot engineer’s office and the after-effects have been way too much to handle for the staff here.
Recently, there was a delay of three to four hours to start a few trips because the rats had bitten off the connecting wires of the computer and the reservation procedure and the like came to a standstill. Ticket rolls kept inside offices are being ripped off leaving conductors scrambling for back up.
“Looking from the outside, the bus terminal has a tall and brand new building to flaunt, but those who use it only know how tragic and pathetic it is to work in such an unhygienic and horrible atmosphere,” said a bus conductor who was once at the receiving end of the rodent menace.
The long-distance bus drivers, desperately in need of some rest, have been the most desperate lot. “After travelling for several hours when we come back to the bus station, we do not even have a space to lie down. The 1,000-square-feet halt room is full of rats and is the dirtiest rest room I have seen of all the bus terminals in the state,” he added.
Stuffy
rest rooms coupled with an influx of rodents have forced some of the staff to resort to lodge rooms nearby just to get a few hours of rest.
Waste piles clogging the Amayizhanjan canal and drains crammed with dirt have provided the most ideal conditions for rodents.
Sajeevas Kumar
, the controlling inspector, said that the issue had been intimated to the mayor and the collector and no action was initiated till date. “It is a common scenario here to see bus drivers and other staff being taken to the hospital for vaccination after they have been bitten by the rodents,” he said.
Ward councillor
M V Jayalekshmi
feels that issue has already been resolved. “We have promptly distributed rat poison to all the terminals and have given clear instructions on how to use them,” she said.
The rodent attack has only added to the woes of the terminal reeling under unhygienic circumstances. In a recent study conducted by the health department, it was found that the abandoned tyres and unhygienic maintenance of the premises have made the terminal to be one of the top five spots in the city which had the highest density of positive containers of dengue.
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