Broken roads, sewer ponds, garbage dumps and a haven for drug addicts and encroachers. Pirwadhai General Bus Stand presents a sorry state of affairs of the civic bodies.

The second-largest bus terminal of Punjab reflects the apathy of the Rawalpindi Municipal Corporation (RMC). Though the RMC generates Rs80 million annually from the facility, it seems that not much is done about its improvement on a regular basis.

The general bus stand was shifted from Liaquat Bagh to Pirwadhai in 1976 by the government of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) founding chairman Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to provide better transport facilities to residents of the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. The area is located in the middle of the twin cities. The total area of the bus stand is 260 kanals. It has 36 bus bays, two petrol filling stations, 1,200 shops, four hotels, one canteen, two banks, a police check post and a post office.

More than 1,000 buses operate from the stand across the country every day. Hundreds of passengers travelling to Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Alipur, Bahawalpur, Multan, Dera Ghazi Khan, Rajanpur, Peshawar, Mardan, Dera Ismail Khan, Lahore, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Gilgit, Chitral, Swat, Skardu and Azad Jammu and Kashmir come to the stand to board their buses.

During a visit to the area, it was found that there were no proper facilities available for passengers. The boundary walls of the bus stand stink due to people freely relieving themselves, and passers-by with weak nerves avoid using the road.

The roofs and walls are leaking, and plastering and whitewashing have not been done for many years. In addition, the bus bays have turned into sewer ponds. The bus stand becomes a haven for beggars and anti-social elements at night.

The waiting verandas have been encroached upon by shopkeepers. Vendors have set up stalls selling shoes, clothes, fruits and dry fruits, disregarding the fact that the space is meant for passengers. Overall, the area presents a stark example of mismanagement by the Rawalpindi Municipal Corporation.

“There is no proper space for women, as the waiting rooms have limited capacity to accommodate women and children, and the shortage of benches forces passengers to stay outside,” said Fareeda Jamal, a passenger waiting for her bus on the road instead of in the waiting rooms.

Another female passenger pointed out that there was no washroom for women. She said she and her husband had to go to a nearby hotel to relieve themselves.

Akbar Ahmed, a visitor, said the government should pay attention to the condition of the bus stand, as mostly low-income people use the facility. “If we had enough money, we would travel to Lahore by other means of transport,” he said.

A senior RMC official told Dawn that the civic body earns Rs80 million annually from rent and entry fees, but all the income is deposited into the civic body’s account and used for pensions, salaries and local schemes. “It is a violation of the law, as the income generated from the bus stand and its property should be spent on its development and on facilities for passengers,” he said.

He said that in 2024, then commissioner Liaquat Ali Chatha managed to improve the condition of the bus stand, including waiting rooms and washrooms, but no funds have been allocated since then for further improvement.

He added that the Punjab Transport Authority wanted to take over the bus stand and upgrade it from a C-class to a B-class facility. In this regard, it had requested Commissioner Abdul Aamer Khattak, but no decision has been made yet.

On the other hand, there are plans to shift all bus stands outside the garrison city along the Rawalpindi Ring Road, but transporters believe this is not feasible, as Pirwadhai lies in the middle of the twin cities and is an ideal location for passengers.

Pervaiz Ahmed, a transporter, said the Islamabad administration was also planning to construct a bus stand near Karnal Sher Khan Road, but transporters were reluctant to move to the Ring Road, which is far from the city.

When contacted, Regional Transport Authority (RTA) Secretary Syed Asad Shirazi said that Pirwadhai General Bus Stand is under the administrative control of the RMC and the RTA has no role in its management. He added that there is a plan to shift public and goods transporters outside the city, and the RTA is working on it. He said a final decision in this regard would be made by the Punjab government soon.

Published in Dawn, April 13th, 2026