Earlier, commuters boarding buses from First Main Road in Nolambur had to depend on trees to protect them from the sun and the rain. Not anymore. The Chennai Corporation has now built a modern bus shelter with the active involvement of people from the neighbourhood.
For a few years now, hundreds of commuters waited in the open braving heat and rain to board buses to localities including T.Nagar, Anna Salai, Tiruvottiyur, Villivakkam, Saidapet, Red Hills and Broadway.
Due to the delay by the Corporation to construct new bus shelters after removal of illegal shelters set up by private entities, commuters had been suffering.
“Earlier, we had to wait in the open during summer and when it rained, we had to carry an umbrella. The new shelter has come as a relief to us,” said K. Shakuntala, a commuter in Nolambur.
According to Corporation officials, the new bus shelters are built from the general funds of the Corporation. The new bus shelter is part of the civic body’s massive plan of constructing 500 bus shelters in the city. At present, the Corporation has given its nod for 214 sleek stainless steel bus shelters in the city as part of the first phase of the project to upgrade bus stops.
Each bus shelter, on an average, costs around Rs 10.30 lakh. They consist of electrical digital boards with bus timings, route numbers and seating arrangements. The shelter also has electrical connection to provide better lighting. “Similar new bus shelters are being constructed in various parts of the neighbourhood with the active involvement of the local residential welfare organisation,” said a Corporation official.
