Bathinda, June 10: The Bus Stand Bachao Sangharsh Committee announced a renewed public agitation on Wednesday following reports of an active survey at a proposed alternative site outside Bathinda city limits. Committee members declared that the regional administration’s plan to relocate the current transport hub would create severe financial and logistical burdens for thousands of daily passengers while exposing citizens to hazardous industrial waste.
The committee maintained that the proposed location, situated on the ash deposit grounds of the decommissioned Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant, presents serious environmental liabilities. Representatives stated that a year-long pause in their public demonstrations was granted solely based on official administrative assurances, which now appear to be compromised by the ongoing structural surveys.
“The plan to build a bus stand and residential colony on the ash deposit of the closed Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant could prove dangerous for the health of the people and the environment,” Committee President Baltej Singh Vander stated during the strategy assembly. “Coal ash contains toxic elements like arsenic, mercury, lead and cadmium, which can cause cancer, kidney diseases and adversely affect the mental development of children.”
Vander noted that the current urban terminal is strategically situated near major public infrastructure, including local colleges, judicial courts, regional healthcare facilities, and the central railway station. He stated that moving the facility away from the city center would force elderly commuters, patients, and students to incur significant secondary travel expenses and daily commuting delays.
The collective organizations present at the assembly jointly demanded that a comprehensive environmental impact assessment be completed before any land use changes are authorized. Committee leaders affirmed that they are prepared to mobilize a significantly larger public demonstration than previously witnessed if the state proceeds with the relocation blueprint.
A diverse coalition of regional representatives attended the strategy session to ratify the protest agenda, including Trade Board official Balvinder Singh Bahia, Transport Union delegate Harvinder Singh Happy, and multiple local councilors. Legal advisors and local merchants also pledged structural support to keep the transit facility at its current location.
