Commuters boarding Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) buses from the following stops on Old Velachery Main Road — Dhandeeshwaram, IIT -Madras Old Velachery Gate and Guru Nanak College — are put to inconvenience as Chennai Traffic Police has revised the routes of MTC buses plying through Velachery Bypass Road and Velachery Main Road.
This diversion is affecting commuters coming from T. Nagar and Broadway and going towards residential colonies located off Old Velachery Main Road — Dhandeeshwaram Nagar, Ram Nagar, Anna Garden and Indira Gandhi Garden.
The Chennai Traffic Police has made these changes at the intersection of Velachery Main Road and Old Velachery Main Road to facilitate construction of flyovers connecting Taramani Link Road and Velachery Bypass Road.
As per the traffic diversion, MTC buses proceeding towards Vijaya Nagar bus terminus, should take a ‘right’ turn at the intersection of Velachery Bypass Road and Old Velachery Main Road.
MTC buses — 5A (East Tambaram to T. Nagar); SV51 (West Tambaram to T. Nagar); V51 (West Tambaram to Velachery) and A51 (East Tambaram to Broadway) — ply through the afore-mentioned bus stops.
“In the present arrangement, commuters have no option other than depending on private modes of transport. Here, the authorities concerned should explore the possibility of operating the buses through LIC Colony Main Road and take a U-turn at the intersections of TANSI Nagar 15th Street, TANSI Nagar 6th Street and Taramani Link Road which could be a better alternative,” suggests M. Prabhakaran, a resident of Velachery. In this regard, MTC officials say that a decision on operating route numbers through LIC Colony Main Road could be taken only with the consultation of the State Highways Department and Chennai Traffic Police.
