But for certain improvements carried out in fits and starts, the Chathram satellite bus stand in the city has seen little development over the past two decades.
Though the bus stand was officially recognised only in 2005, it has been in existence for over three decades. And down the years, it has been characterised by heavy congestion for want of space for manoeuvrability, poor amenities for passengers and unhygienic conditions.
Located in the old city area and surrounded by educational institutions and business establishments, the ‘D' category bus stand is being used by thousands of commuters, especially school and college students, every day.
It is also the terminus for a large number of town buses operating in the city.
Though it is a terminus for mofussil buses operating to Perambalur, Ariyalur and a few other northern destinations, these buses continue to operate from the roadside without even proper shelters for the passengers.
The bus stand itself got a roof only a couple of years back, when the Corporation after long years of representation decided to put up a translucent shelter.
The Corporation has now embarked on a project to replace them with corrugated aluminium sheets as the PVC roofing was prone for damages. Work has been completed on one portion of the bus stand and is underway in the other half.
According to Corporation sources, the work has been taken up at a cost of about Rs.1.50 crore.
The project included provision of lighting, pavement blocks and passenger seats at the bus stand.
Pointing out that the bus stand is heavily cramped for space, N.Ramakrishnan, convenor, Federation of Welfare Organisations of Tiruchi, says that the Corporation should first revoke the permission for petty shops functioning inside the bus stand.
“When you do not have adequate space for buses, where is the need for shops inside the bus stand? Passengers waiting inside have to move around to give way to the buses. Shop-keepers do not permit passengers to stand in front of their shops and at times even abuse them. The Corporation has to take a bold decision to decide whether they need shops are space for buses inside the bus stand. All petty shops should be removed” he says.
Mr.Ramakrishnan also suggests streamlining the bus halts for various routes inside the bus stand so that commuters waiting for buses (with less frequency) to the outskirts of the city could be accommodate under the new shelter being erected now. Halts for buses operating on the Palakkarai, Thillai Nagar and Woraiyur routes could be shifted out as the frequency on these routes are very high and the buses move out every minute. Many passengers using the bus stand point to the unhygienic conditions and demand improvements to the toilets and better seating arrangements.
The city bus halts outside the bus stand for buses operating towards Srirangam on the St.Joseph's College side and those in the opposite side near the Shrimati Indira Gandhi College should be streamlined and regulated to help smooth flow of traffic. Haphazard parking of buses with commercial complexes all around make for dangerous traffic conditions in and around the bus stand.
