Ernakulam KSRTC bus stand set to receive long overdue facelift

The much-maligned Ernakulam KSRTC stand, the flooded premises of which have been a template visual whenever heavy rain lashed the city, may at last get a reprieve, with the State government committing ₹12 crore for the construction of a new facility, an integrated bus terminal, on the transport behemoth’s land at Karikkamuri in the immediate neighbourhood of the existing stand.

The Finance Minister announced an aid of ₹12 crore when he visited the bus stand with people’s representatives and officials on Saturday (August 30, 2025). The proposal on 1.90 acres had run into rough weather following the KSRTC’s reservations about a barter arrangement under which it was to be allotted land of equal value on the Vyttila Mobility Hub (VMH) premises, citing the potentially substantial investments involved in filling the largely slushy site to prevent waterlogging.

People’s representatives, including Hibi Eden, MP, T.J. Vinod, MLA, and Mayor M. Anilkumar, have prioritised the project with the government over the years.

The KSRTC’s garage-cum-administrative block built in 2016 using the MLA funds of Hibi Eden during his tenure as Ernakulam MLA, had to be pulled down after it developed cracks even before inauguration.

“The existing bus stand has become a ditch of sorts following elevated constructions all around it, making it vulnerable to flooding. While Cochin Smart Mission Limited (CSML) had agreed to allocate ₹12 crore for the bus terminal project, it suggested allocating it to VMH, considering the hurdles involved in directly funding a public sector enterprise. However, the KSRTC and VMH could not reach a consensus, and by the time an understanding was struck, CSML had run out its mandate to fund the projects as per the Central guidelines,” said Mr. Anilkumar.

Mr. Vinod had written to the Central government officials concerned seeking an intervention to resolve the stalemate. The KSRTC has informed that the new construction will be a completely steel structure. The architecture wing will start preparing the drawing as soon as the Public Works department (PWD) received the already prepared station survey reports. The Kerala Highway Research Institute will be roped in to prepare the design, based on which the PWD will revise the estimate. The Minister has agreed to favourably consider the potential upward revision of estimates, said Mr. Vinod.

According to the original plan, a total of 16 KSRTC and private buses could be berthed at a time in the proposed integrated bus terminal. With CSML funding assured, back in March, then Chief Secretary Sarada Muraleedharan had even directed the officials concerned to prepare the proposal for the ₹10-crore second phase of the integrated bus terminal to be submitted to the Centre in June.