They came by two carriage vehicles from their village Theranipalayam to the collectorate to demand restoration of town bus facility to their village, but returned home by Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation-owned buses, thanks to district administration.
A group of 66 students from the village in Lalgudi taluk submitted a petition to the Collector, Jayashree Muralidharan, demanding bus facility for their schools.
The children had to travel 45 km, including 35 km on Tiruchi-Chennai National Highway from Padalur, their nearest town.
The Collector first ordered the police to impose a fine on the drivers of the vehicles, Kaliyamurthy and Ranganathan, for endangering the lives of the children by bringing them on carriage vehicles.
She also made arrangements for their safe return to Government Higher Secondary School in Padalur through two TNSTC-owned buses.
S.Sakthivel, village panchayat president, and V.Periyasamy, vice president, who accompanied the children, said that the children have been put to hardship due to the suspension of four town buses – from Lalgudi, Pullampadi, Perambalur and Ariyalur depots – since Thursday .
The TNSTC had withdrawn the service due to the poor road condition, which had cause frequent technical failures in buses. Since Thursday, a mini-bus has been the lone mode of conveyance for the villagers.
