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Tuesday, Nov 25, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

A nagging problem kept at bay What they say…

S. Annamalai

Measures taken at Tirumangalam to bring some relief to harried travellers

N.S.V. Chiththan, MP: “Bypass road, once completed, will bring an end to many problems” S.Mohamed Shahul Hameed, Municipal Engineer: “ New bus stand is in the offing”

— Photo: K. Ganesan

Bringing SOME ORDER: Stop for south-bound buses at Tirumangalam.

TIRUMANGALAM: Buses do not queue up on the highway. Passengers do not run after buses. Other vehicles move on without a need to stop and go at several points. The problem of providing a parking bay for south-bound buses here seems to have been solved, albeit temporarily, with the new arrangement that came into effect on Sunday.

These buses have been using two points in the past to offload or pick up passengers at this fast growing town. The earlier one at the entrance to Tirumangalam caused a lot of inconvenience to other road users and passengers. The second point, on Jawahar Nagar First Street, was a nuisance to residents as they were annoyed at the almost round-the-clock noise made by passing vehicles. The present one, opposite the Tirumangalam Town police station, is at about 150 metres from the bus stand.

Two hitches

Tirumangalam has been suffering from traffic congestion at two points on the National Highway for long. The first one, while entering the town, was created by haphazard parking of buses. The other one is a bottleneck on the Usilampatti Road junction. So the time taken by buses to negotiate Tirumangalam was having a telling effect on the journey — buses bound for Tirunelveli, Shencottah and Nagercoil could save at least half an hour without these congestions.

In the last few years, they had to take a right turn after entering Tirumangalam and pass through residential areas to halt at Jawahar Nagar stop. At times, it took more than 15 minutes for long distance buses to leave this point. But the present arrangement seems to have solved the problem of congestion. The space on the NH opposite the police station has been levelled and medians put in place to segregate ongoing traffic.

The decision to provide a new stop is on the basis of a resolution passed by Tirumangalam Municipal Council, according to S. Mohamed Shahul Hameed, Municipal Engineer, who is also Commissioner (in charge). Buses are required to take a detour to enter the bay to pick up passengers. More facilities are bound to come up at this place, which is narrow.

In all towns, buses usually enter the bus stand to pick up passengers. In Tirumangalam, it is not the practice as the bus stand is already bursting at its seams. Entry and exit will cost another 15 minutes. And it is not capable of accommodating more than 20 buses at a time, whereas there is a steady stream of buses towards southern destinations such as Virudhunagar, Sivakasi, Rajapalayam, Shencottah, Tirunelveli and Nagercoil.

“We will be able to find a permanent solution to this problem once a new, spacious bus stand comes up,” says Mr. Hameed. The civic body is in the process of identifying a suitable land for the new bus stand.

Man with mike

To regulate traffic on the highway, a police team, with a wireless microphone, has been posted in front of the bus stand. A constable, holding the microphone, advises passengers alighting at the bus stand to board south-bound buses at the new stop. Simultaneously, he regulates the movement of buses from Madurai. Still, not all the buses use only the bay to take in passengers. They move slowly in search of passengers and stop whenever they find one. “If this is not checked, buses will continue to congest the highway,” said S. Ramachandran, a commuter.

The Dindigul MP, N. S. V. Chiththan, a resident of Tirumangalam, is confident that many of the problems of road users will be solved once the Tirumangalam bypass is opened for traffic in a month’s time. The present arrangement had to be made as buses were operated through residential areas, he says. The MP has promised to provide a shelter for passengers at the stop from his local area development fund.

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