Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) will operate 400 special buses to clear rush during Deepavali. A senior official of TNSTC told The Hindu on Thursday that on an average 50 to 80 people were making reservations at the counters of TNSTC in Gandhipuram and Singanallur for travel to long distance.
The number of special buses to be operated on a particular day would depend on the number of reservations made, he added.
Only if people planned their travel earlier and reserved their tickets, the TNSTC would be able to operate special buses, he said.
The TNSTC has planned to operate ten buses on the Coimbatore – Chennai sector for the next five days beginning Saturday, 50 buses on the Coimbatore - Madurai rote, 45 on the Coimbatore – Tiruchi Route, 25 on Coimbatore – Salem sector, 10 on the Coimbatore – Theni route, 20 on the Coimbatore – Udhagamandalam route, 55 on the Erode – Madurai route, 35 on the Erode – Tiruchi route, 25 on the Erode – Salem route, 45 on the Coimbatore – Erode route, 25 on the Tirupur – Madurai route, 20 on the Tirupur – Theni route, 20 on the Tirupur – Tiruchi Route and 15 buses on the Tirupur – Salem route.
The pressure on Coimbatore – Chennai sector is likely to be less as Southern Railway had announced operation of two-pairs of special trains before and after Deepavali.
Absence of special trains on the Coimbatore – Kanyakumari route and Coimbatore – Rameswaram route would result in people depending more on buses, officials said.
The police and Corporation officials are planning to erect barricades at the Singanallur bus stand on Friday.