Bus commuters in Tiruvottiyur suffer

July 08, 2014 08:22 am | Updated 08:22 am IST - CHENNAI:

Many of the bus stops in this north Chennai locality lack shelters forcing commuters to stand on the roadside. Photo: B. Jothi Ramalingam

Many of the bus stops in this north Chennai locality lack shelters forcing commuters to stand on the roadside. Photo: B. Jothi Ramalingam

For a bus commuter in Tiruvottiyur, waiting in the searing sun or getting drenched in sudden showers is nothing unusual.

Many of the bus stops in this north Chennai locality lack shelters forcing commuters to stand on the roadside.

The busy Tiruvottiyur High (T.H.) Road has a number of bus stops but many of them do not have shelters, either on one side or both sides of the stretch. This includes bus stops at Tollgate, Kaladipet, Thaangal, Theradi and Ajax.

Sitting on the stairs of a shop while waiting for a bus at Theradi, Rajendran, a resident of Tiruvottiyur, said, “Waiting for a bus has become a tiresome experience. It is exhausting to stand for long without a shelter. Many people seek shelter at shops near the bus stop.” When it rains, commuters jostle for space at nearby commercial establishments, said Mary, another resident.

“In circumstances like these, we just hope a bus arrives soon. Many times, we end up getting drenched waiting for the bus,” she said.

Recently, an organisation put up a temporary shelter at Theradi bus stop, as elderly persons and schoolchildren find it difficult to wait in the sun. Many commuters hope the Chennai Corporation will construct bus shelters once the work to widen T.H. Road is completed.

R. Jayaraman, chairperson of the erstwhile Tiruvottiyur municipality, said five bus shelters at Ernavoor had been brought down to construct new ones almost a year ago.

“But the Chennai Corporation is yet to construct new ones. Many bus stops from Tollgate to Ernavoor bridge do not have shelters and we have been repeatedly raising this issue with the Corporation. Road-widening work should be expedited so we can get bus shelters,” he said.

Officials of the Chennai Corporation said work to construct bus shelters is being taken up in a phased manner across the city.

A few bus shelters have been constructed near Kathivakkam. A proposal seeking close to 60 bus shelters in and around Tiruvottiyur areas has been submitted for approval, said an official.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.