Local, mofussil buses make unscheduled stops precipitating traffic congestion
Absence of a bus stand in Manachanallur town is, perhaps, the reason why local and mofussil buses make several unscheduled stops, thereby precipitating traffic chaos even further.
It is not that the need for the bus stand has not dawned on the local body, a selection-grade town panchayat.
There is simply no place in the town where the local body owns contiguous land to the extent of two to three acres, the minimum space required for a bus stand, according to Executive Officer G.Srinivasan.
A step initiated by the local body a few years ago for constructing bus stand on a piece of temple land could not fructify.
The local body is not totally averse to settling for some land on the outskirts of the local body provided by the revenue department for constructing the bus stand, but is not able to jump into taking a decision fraught with consequences.
For, the town panchayat will not be able to construct shopping complexes and create other facilities for the purpose of revenue generation if the land is not in its jurisdiction. But the local body does not have the luxury of a lengthy waiting time since the town growing at a robust pace cannot afford to languish without a bus stand indefinitely.
Manachanallur has been witnessing a steady growth and it is a matter of time before the selection grade town panchayat gets upgraded to a special grade town panchayat, according to a cross section of the public.
Declaration of Manachanallur as an Assembly seat, and its taluk headquarters status are factors that further strengthen the case for a full-fledged bus stand similar to the one in Musiri.
A bus stand is indeed a dire necessity, said Abdul, a councillor representing eighth ward.
A bus stand that once used to function on a small piece of land at one end of the town presents a deserted look.
The location was found to be unsuitable since passengers had to walk for very lengthy distances towards the town.
"We are constantly on the lookout for a suitable piece of land. Even if one acre is available, we would go ahead with construction,” Mr.Srinivasan said.