Specials buses in Tiruchi till Monday to clear Pongal rush

Special buses on Thursday and Friday to Palani in view of Thaipoosam

Traffic jam on VOC Road near central bus stand as a large number of special buses were operated in Tiruchi on Thursday to cater to the holiday rush. Photo: M. Moorthy

Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) and State Express Transport Corporation (SETC) will operate special buses to Chennai and various other destinations from the city till Monday to clear the Pongal rush. With the festival making for an extended holiday till this weekend, the TNSTC has planned to operate the specials based on demand.

The TNSTC will operate about 200 specials to various destinations.

“We are already running about 100 buses to Chennai today. This apart, specials are to be run to Coimbatore, Tirupur, Madurai, and other destinations. All the specials will run till Monday morning,” a senior TNSTC officer told The Hindu .

The TNSTC has also announced that special buses will be operated on Thursday and Friday to Palani from Tiruchi, Karur, Perambalur, and other destinations in view of Thaipoosam festival.

According to officials, the corporation has deployed officers and ticket checkers at the bus stands to monitor the situation and make arrangements for operation of specials depending on the demand round the clock.

Officials expect the rush to peak over the weekend when people who have visited their hometowns to celebrate Pongal are expected to make their return trips. A SETC officer said that about 20-30 specials had been operated a day over the past couple of days to Chennai, and specials would run this weekend based on demand. The corporation was also operating special buses to Bangalore from here, he said.

Temporary bus stands

Meanwhile, the city police have decided to reintroduce the system of operating buses from temporary bus stands, which was followed during Deepavali.

Accordingly, three temporary bus stands will function around the central bus stand till January 19.

Buses bound for Chennai, Dindigul, Palani, Coimbatore, and Tirupur will operate from the central bus stand.

All buses operating on the Pudukottai route will be operated from the temporary bus stand near the Khadi Kraft junction in front of the railway junction.

Buses operating on the Thanjavur route will be operated from the temporary bus stand near the second entrance to the railway junction. Buses bound for Madurai, Tirunelveli, and other southern destinations will operate from Periyamilaguparai.

Omni buses, in restricted numbers, will be parked along the VOC Road.

All buses should come to the bus stand only before their scheduled time of departure and not parked there.