It is more than 40 days now that the Tamil Nadu Transport Corporation shifted the bus stop near Madurai District Court complex in K.K. Nagar. But with no shelters, passengers bear the brunt of hot sun and pouring rain.
Buses bound for Mattuthavani Integrated Bus Stand and beyond that used to stop between Race Course Road junction and the main entrance of the court complex were shifted some 100 metres away from the main gate. This was aimed at decongesting vehicular traffic on the Melur highway near the old bus stop as the carriageway near the new bus stop is broader. With a median at this spot, often heavy vehicles found it difficult to overtake buses halting at the OLD bus stop, thus holding the vehicular traffic.
Besides, vehicles also had to stop here as per the manual signal of traffic police to enable vehicles and people coming out and getting into the court complex.
With seven bus shelters put up by Madurai Corporation at the old stop for the benefit of passengers, autorickshaws used to queue up in front of the bus shelters causing further road congestion.
However, after landscaping of the spot along the court complex, the officials found the space at the new spot wide enough to shift the bus stop so that halting buses do not hold up the road traffic.
The TNSTC implemented its plan after erecting a signboard “Bus Stop” at the new spot. Under their supervision for a couple of days, all the buses were directed to stop only at the new bus stop.
It was expected that all the seven bus shelters put up by the Corporation will also be shifted to the new place in due course. But, despite rain lashing the city for several days now, even the ground work for shifting the shelters is yet to begin.
This has resulted in passengers - men, women and children - waiting at the new bus stop and those alighting from buses are soaked to the skin during rain.
Besides, the existence of the bus shelters at the old bus stand creates confusion to drivers of outstation buses and those new to this place.
Lack of a signboard announcing the shifting of bus stop to the nearby spot is also one reason why passengers still hang on at the old bus stop. Their presence leads to autorickshaws halting there.
Besides, lack of any marking at the new bus stop results in drivers stopping the buses anywhere near the “Bus Stop” board. Many a time, the buses halt on the middle of the road, again blocking the vehicular traffic, defeating the very purpose of the shifting exercise.
