Although the construction of a state-of-the-art smart bus park has been completed in Dharan Sub-metropolitan City-8, it has not yet been decided whether it will be operational.

This bus park, which is a three-story building, has been prepared with a well-organized structure and modern facilities and was expected to give a new direction to the city's transport management. But due to private land disputes, compensation problems and flawed administrative and legal procedures adopted in the past, public services have been disrupted.

Hundreds of buses, jeeps, microbuses and autos travel daily from Dharan, the main gateway to the eastern hilly district. But due to the lack of a well-organized bus park, the city has become chaotic as vehicles are parked on the narrow bus park at Bhanuchowk and on the roadside. While passengers have to wait for their vehicles in the sun and rain, traffic jams, the risk of accidents and unorganized parking are directly affecting the beauty and life of the city.

With the aim of solving this problem, a plan was taken forward to build a smart bus park in the beautiful settlement area of ​​Dharan-8. The three-story terminal building has facilities ranging from underground parking to hotels, restaurants, commercial shops, passenger waiting areas, ticket counters, security systems and first aid rooms.

The basement has a capacity to park 72 two-wheelers, 60 autos and some cars and jeeps, while the infrastructure has been created in the bus park area to operate 37 buses and 26 jeeps at a time. Although the physical and financial progress has reached 100 percent, all these structures have become unused.

The contract for the construction of the smart bus park was awarded to Bikoi-Gitanjali JV. The project, for which the work order was issued on Ashad 30, 2078, was to be completed within three years, but the deadline was extended by nine months after it was not completed on time. Although the estimated cost of the project was Rs 337 million, the contract amount was Rs 251.5 million. Although the project is technically ready, its operation is still uncertain.

The root of the failure to start the bus park is linked to the past land management process. The plan to build the bus park was first taken forward in 2056 BS. It was decided to move the bus park to Dharan-8 in search of an alternative to the cramped bus park in Bhanuchowk.

Although a plan including settlement development was prepared with the technical assistance of the German Cooperation Agency GTZ, the plan remained stalled for a long time due to dissatisfaction of local landowners. The foundation stone of the bus park was laid on Magh 27, 2076 BS at the initiative of the then Deputy Mayor and Judicial Committee Coordinator Manju Bhandari Subedi. But the opposition of local landowners started from the very day of the foundation stone laying.

Local landowners had formed a struggle committee alleging that there was an attempt to grab people's land in the name of the bus park, that the land was brought to the municipality without consent, and that an attempt was made to transact land in collusion. The landowners had filed a case against the Sub-Metropolitan City Ward 8 office in the Biratnagar High Court in 2080 BS, alleging that a smart bus park had been built on private land.

Before the case could be resolved, local Iman Singh Rai filed another case alleging that the bus park was being built illegally. He had filed the case saying that it was a matter of public concern even though he was not the owner of the bus park area or land. In 2081 BS, the construction of the bus park had reached its final stage, but due to the case, the construction work was stalled. After the case was decided in favor of the Dharan Sub-Metropolitan City, the construction work has been resumed and completed. But even after a month of completion, it has not been operational.

The Dharan Sub-Metropolitan City has formed a five-member dialogue and report preparation committee to resolve the dispute. In the executive meeting held on Tuesday, Mayor Hark Sampang Rai admitted that the past process was flawed and said that it is the responsibility of the state to protect private property. He said that it was wrong to bring land to the municipality without the consent of the person and said that a solution should be found by accepting the mistake.