It seems New Year is turning out to be a good time for Munnar, one of the most sought-after hill stations in South India. Along with Union tourism minister K Chiranjeevi announcing launch of ‘Land of Pi’ campaign in the country across all media to promote Munnar as one of the prime destinations, the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has also initiated futuristic plans.
The transport corporation has decided to construct a four-bay garage at Munnar depot as part of extending services to public, mainly tourists. The garage would ensure hassle-free services to visitors to the hill station, believe authorities.
“The idea is to set up a station equipped with all facilities. Though we handle many services to and fro to Munnar, due to regular breakdowns and technical snags, a few services usually get affected. A full-fledged garage is the first step to make our Munnar centre a well-equipped station,” a senior KSRTC officer told TOI.
A tender for the same has already been floated. The Corporation has earmarked Rs 33 lakh to construct the garage. The garage is expected to be completed in five months once the tender is awarded.
KSRTC already plies inter-state services to Bangalore, Theni and some part of Tamil Nadu from Munnar. “In near future, we will introduce more service connecting major cities of neighbouring states with Munnar. Once we start providing quality service to commuters, the ticket collection will also increase,” he said.
The plan is to exploit maximum potential of the hill station, as the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) did long back. The Tamil Nadu counterparts have connected both their hill stations – Ootty and Kodaikanal – with major cities in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and a few cities in Kerala too, by plying hundreds of services every day and special services in season.
News: Times Of India
