At the Puzhuthivakkam bus terminus, commuters are greeted by the sight of abandoned vehicles, overgrown shrubs, mounds of garbage and construction debris and motors. The bus terminus has been languishing for years without basic amenities. The other bus termini in the region — namely, Nanganallur, Keelkattalai, Alandur, Madipakkam and Adambakkam — are comparatively better.
Regulars at the terminus complain of damaged approach roads, poor illumination, unhygienic toilets, lack of seating arrangement, bus bays, bus shelter, time boards, drinking water taps and frequent water stagnation inside the terminus.
The local Metrowater office shares some space on the premises of the terminus. An overhead tank , which caters to the drinking water needs of the residents of Ullagaram and Puzhuthivakkam, is also found at the terminus. Therefore, water tankers keep invading the terminus for fill-ups. Every day, on an average 40 to 50 loads of water are being drawn from the tank, and this has caused the approach roads to the premises to be damaged.
Lakshmi, a resident of Ullagaram, says, “I don't have time to go for a walk in the morning. So, I always prefer to walk in the evening. For safety reasons, I keep changing the route every day. Whenever I walk through the Puzhuthivakkam bus terminus, a sense of fear grips me, as there are no lights at the terminus. We have to rely on lights from the nearby commercial establishments. A a high-mast lamp on the premises is not functioning. I have heard of chain-snatching incidents near the terminus."
Poor condition of Puzhuthivakkam Bus Terminus. Abandoned vehicles and garbage are dumped into the terminus. Also the approach roads are bad. Photo: Vaishali R Venkat
Geetha, a senior citizen from Puzhuthivakkam, says, “I don't take the risk of going to the terminus at night; my son always escorts me. As the terminus is pitch-dark and the approach roads have stagnant water and are uneven, I find it difficult to pass through this area. There have been cases of senior citizens getting injured due to these problems. Still, we use the terminus as it is a connecting area between two streets."
Residents offer a compelling argument for why the facility has to be maintained optimally — three ration shops and an 'Amma' canteen are located on its premises.
Poor condition of Puzhuthivakkam Bus Terminus. Abandoned vehicles and garbage are dumped into the terminus. Also the approach roads are bad. Photo: Vaishali R Venkat
One of the senior Corporation officials says, “We have given a proposal to the Metrowater Department to construct a separate entrance for the Metrowater office so that water tankers will not enter the terminus. If the entry of water tankers is stopped, then we can lay concrete roads.
However, it is a long process and a feasibility study has to be conducted. As a temporary measure, we have planned to lay rubbish to level the potholed surface. Patch work will be done in a week's time.”
Poor condition of Puzhuthivakkam Bus Terminus. Abandoned vehicles and garbage are dumped into the terminus. Also the approach roads are bad. Photo: Vaishali R Venkat
Regarding poor illumination on the terminus, he says, "Installation of approximately 1,000 LED lamps have been sanctioned for the entire Puzhuthivakkam area. Work for installing six LED lamps on the premises will start within a month's time. Moreover, there are plans to replace high-mast lamps with LED lights as the maintenance cost of High-mast lamps is too high. But, the high-mast lamp inside the terminus will be repaired as a temporary measure.”
J.K. Manikandan, former Councillor, ward 168, says, “A major portion of the land at the terminus belongs to the Corporation. It is fine if Metrowater uses the land, but contract labourers have put up a shed on the premises. There were three toilets on the premises and the labourers have made a mess of them. Metrowater must remove the shed."
Plans are on to install two 'Namma' toilets on the premises.
“We have already cleaned the existing toilets and carried repairs on them. If labourers are still using the toilets, steps will be taken to remove the shed and vacate them,” added the corporation official.
