The Maharana Pratap Interstate Bus Terminus (Maharana Pratap ISBT), popularly known as Kashmere Gate Interstate Bus Terminus (Kashmere Gate ISBT), located in Delhi, is the oldest and one of the biggest Inter-State Bus Terminals in India. It operates bus services between Delhi and the neighbouring states and union territories of Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand. Spanning about 5.3 acres, it handles over 1,800 buses a day.[1]
Maharana Pratap ISBT was opened in 1976.[2] It served as the only ISBT in Delhi till 1993 when it was transferred to the Transport Department, after which two new ISBTs were created in Sarai Kale Khan and Anand Vihar to de-congest the overcrowded Maharana Pratap ISBT. It was renovated in 2011-2012 by DIMTS at a cost of ₹ 70 crores, and inaugurated in 2013 by then Chief Minister of Delhi, Sheila Dikshit.[3]
The terminus has 45 departure bus bays, eight idle bus bays and 13 arrival bus bays,[4] all catering to interstate buses or buses to other ISBTs in Delhi. Local buses for other parts of the capital are being operated from the mini bus stand which is known as DTC Block.
The departure block, waiting area and food court are centrally air-conditioned. Reverse osmosis plants have been installed to supply clean drinking water to the passengers. A high-speed, secured Wi-Fi zone allows passengers to remain connected. To keep the building environmentally friendly a sewage treatment plant has been installed with the capacity of 1000 cubic meters per day. The sewage water is treated and recycled to be used in the air-conditioning plant and for the purpose of horticulture and flushing toilets. A new parking management system has also been developed which is capable of storing data of buses entering and exiting the premises. High-resolution CCTV cameras have also been installed for surveillance.
Transport
Engineering
