By Sarmad Qazi / Staff Reporter
Source: Gulf Times
19 August 2010
The heap of trash bags at Central Bus Station
Dozens of trash bags have been left unattended for over a month at the busy Central Bus Station of the public transport company Mowasalat, posing a health hazard. 
The bags, lying in a massive heap near the public toilet of the bus station, cause a nuisance to commuters.
On an average day, at least 150 buses go in and out of the station, while on Fridays the number doubles with at least 200 buses using the facility.
“This is a public health hazard to thousands of passengers coming to Central Bus Station. The condition of the waiting areas and public toilets are already despicable,” a commuter told Gulf Times.
According to a Mowasalat official, the pile of trash bags is a result of a “contractual dispute” between Mowasalat’s appointed cleaning agency and the one contracted by the municipality.
“Our cleaning company was told by the municipality’s cleaning firm not to use the trash bin at the site, calling it a public property, and all the trash was offloaded. It’s been lying there since then. More has been added to it,” the official told Gulf Times.
“The Mowasalat management has already been notified. A warning letter from municipality, urging trash to be picked up in 48 hours last Thursday, is with the management,” the official added.
Central Bus Station, behind the Alfardan Centre, has been operational since 2005 and along with Mowasalat’s headquarters on Street 37 and another location in New Salata, serve as a bus depot at the end of the daily services.
Meanwhile, the condition of the public toilets at the bus station has failed to improve.
Housed in a trailer, the whole section is unkempt and reeks of human waste, as of yesterday.
Of the eight toilets inside the trailer, only one has a door knob, which too is broken, while the lids of flush tanks have been found missing and filled instead with empty bottles of soft drinks. The taps are dirty.
“They look like they have never been cleaned. Actually I don’t remember them ever being cleaned,” a commuter said.
The Mowasalat official said: “We have regular cleaning of toilets. People go in and come out 24 hours. It’s the public that prevents the cleaning. We are trying to maintain things as clean as we can.”
A source told Gulf Times that Mowasalat had plans to move Central Bus Station to another site and so the current premises’ maintenance was not a priority now.
“A lot of sites have been suggested… the lot next to Hamad Medical Corp’s psychiatry clinic near Jaidah Bridge, part of the current Doha Airport when it moves out and so on,” the source said.
“This has left the company in a limbo. For instance, new electronic sign boards for loading bays at Central Bus Station were ordered but even after their arrival, they haven’t been installed because of the same reasons,” the source added.
