Private and government buses stop in the middle of the road to pick up passengers instead of stopping at the designated bus stop at Sundar Lodge Junction in Salem city, affecting vehicle movement in the area. Commuters have urged the police and Transport Department to direct the buses to stop only at the bus stop.
Roads leading to the Collectorate, new bus stand, old bus stand, Hasthampatti, and Ammapet converge at the Sundar Lodge Junction. A large number of students gather at the junction in the morning and evening hours as the Salem Government Arts College and Salem Town Railway Station are located closeby.
The buses heading to Harur, Uthangarai, Tiruvannamalai, Attur, Kallakurichi, Villupuram, Chennai, and town buses heading to Old Bus Stand pick up passengers at the Sundar Lodge Junction. But commuters complain that the buses pick up passengers in the middle of the road instead of stopping at the bus stops, creating traffic congestion.
Salem District Janata Dal (Secular) district president G. Velayudham said that after one part of the Mulluvadi Flyover works was completed and a circle was constructed to shift Dr. Ambedkar’s statue from Hanging Garden, the space at the Sundar Lodge Junction was reduced. There was a bus stop near the junction with a shelter for passengers. But as the buses pick up passengers near the library, the passengers waited in the middle of the road.
Many times, when two buses passed the location at the same time, they picked up passengers on the road, halting other vehicles. The traffic police should impose fine on buses that picked up passengers in the middle of the road, and the Transport Department should instruct the drivers in this regard, Mr. Velayudham added.
The Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation Salem Division officials said that they would instruct the drivers. Police officials said they instructed the buses to pick up passengers at the bus stop, and action would be taken against erring drivers.
