The practice of private and Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation buses stopping at unscheduled stops on the busy Thiruvananthapuram High Road in Palayamkottai causes severe traffic snarls.
After the bus stops near Buhari Hotel and Chennai Silks at Vannarpet caused frequent traffic congestion and accidents, Collector M. Karunakaran, in consultation with the city police and Corporation officials, brought a solution by shifting the bus stops under Chellapandian flyover. Bus bays were created near Hotel Ram Prasad and Hotel Lakshmi Gayathri and drivers were instructed to stop their buses only at these points. This measure did put an end to the traffic congestion.
But, of late, the drivers have started to halt at Chennai Silks stop again.
“While the bus shelter in front of Buhari Hotel was removed so as to force passengers to wait at the new bus stop under the flyover, the one in front of Chennai Silks was not. This resulted in passengers waiting under the shelter to board buses. When it caused traffic snarl, it was also removed. Still, drivers stop buses at these places and cause traffic congestion again,” said a shopkeeper.
Another major traffic issue in Palayamkottai is that drivers stop buses at will on the middle of the road to take or drop passengers.
For instance, buses coming out of Palayamkottai bus stand stop at LIC Divisional Office which is a mere 100 metres away. Likewise, buses coming from Thoothukudi and Tiruchendur stop near Hotel Nellai Saravana Bhavan instead of Raja Towers and cause traffic snarls and accidents.
“We’ve lodged many complaints with the police, but they have not taken any action to ensure that buses are stopped only at the designated stops,” said an autorickshaw driver.
A senior police official said that these issues would be discussed in their next meeting.
