Chennai: Jam-packed buses, trains cater to festive rush

Chennai: With special buses departing the city to various destinations to cater to the Deepavali rush, the Puratchi Thalaivar MGR Bus terminus premises and its adjacent areas in Koyambedu, experienced heavy traffic jams, with buses including omni buses crawling at snail’s pace. Even Egmore and Central railway stations witnessed huge crowds, and trains that left Chennai were jam-packed with people.

Adding to traffic woes, is the ongoing one-km grade separator work on busy Jawaharal Nehru Salai, a project which should have been completed by the end of last June. Now, motorists and the public are left to bear the brunt of chaotic traffic for the next couple of days.

Caught in the mess is also the Metropolitan Transport Services (MTC) which operates over 3,000 buses connecting most parts of the city to the Puratchi Thalaivar MGR Bus terminus, since these buses always find themselves trapped inside the premises.

“It would take just 15 to 20 minutes to reach Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus (CMBT) from Guindy, but on Saturday evening, it took 45 to 50 minutes to cover the distance. Buses that entered the CMBT premises, found it difficult to make an exit. Bus drivers were seen honking, and trying to slowly maneuver their way out through the already choked area,” said a passenger.

Police also had a tough time regulating traffic and the crowd. “Since more number of MTC and mofussil buses enter the CMBT premises, we find it difficult to regulate traffic. Unlike in the past, the transport department in consultation with the police department prepared a new chart and many buses are routed through Vandalur Outer Ring Road (ORR) and Maduravoyal bypass to reach Vandalur, in a bid to reduce traffic in the city,” said a police officer, posted near Koyambedu bus terminus.

According to the transport department, government buses carried a whopping 1.60 lakh passengers from Chennai to several destinations by late Friday evening, while bus stands like Koyambedu, Poonamallee,Kilambakkam and Tambaram also recorded huge footfalls. The transport department has already arranged basic amenities in the temporary bus stands.

Omni buses in huge numbers are also being operated from all bus stands, and all buses carried passengers who had already made their booking online, said a member from the Tamil Nadu Private Omni Bus Owners Association.

This apart, the two major railway stations in the city - Central and Egmore - witnessed a sea of people. Passengers in large numbers were seen packed in all the trains that left both the stations.