Tuesday, May 26, 2009

GHMC - The Greater Hyderabad Municpal Corporation or the GHAC - The Greater Hyderabad Advertising Corporation

The GHMC has to decide whether it is a Municipal Corporation or an Advertising Company

Take the shiny new bus stops cropping up all over Hyderabad. I assume they are bus stops, but more likely they are advertising hoardings with chairs under them. There is no way to determine that they are bus stops. They don't mention the name of the bus stop. They don't mention the buses which are supposed to stop there. That buses never stop within 10 feet of the bus stops in Hyderabad is another story.

They take up the whole footpath. Pedestrians have to get down onto the road to get past them. In fact they are a hazard, where a pedestrian can even bang one's head against their low roofs. If one notices carefully, the richer the area, the fewer the buses and more the bus stops!

Coming back to the advertising. Is it not too much to ask that the GHMC at least takes care of the public before they use these bus stops for advertising? Look at Bengaluru. All bus stops have the Municipal Logo, the Name of the bus stop and a list of all buses which stop there. They serve their purpose and more. Instead, the bus stops in Hyderabad are just another source of revenue for the GHMC.