Commuters at the Gandhipuram bus stand had a unusually long wait on Wednesday morning as the officials had diverted buses to facilitate Governor Banwarilal Purohit’s visit.
Commuters waited outside the eastern and the western entrances wondering what was happening even as policemen kept them at a safe distance from the bus bays. At the Gandhipuram junction and close to eastern entrance of the bus stand, the police men diverted the buses. Bus drivers were left wondering where to take the buses.
R. Sasikumar, a commuter, said that he was supposed to take the 7.10 a.m. bus to Madukkarai to his work place but would now have to switch three buses to reach in time. He said he had been waiting for close to 40 minutes for a bus.
A group of engineering college students said they had been waiting for over 20 minutes to board a bus to their college in Kuniamuthur. They feared they would be late for class.
Transport Department officials said they had denied entry to buses based on instructions from Coimbatore Corporation officials and would allow buses to re-enter once they gave the go-ahead. And that green signal came around 7.30, after the Governor left the place.
The commuters said it would have been better if the Corporation had made better arrangements and informed the public of the temporary disruption that too at peak hour.
