Forget riding a two-wheeler, even walking on the Vadavalli-Edayarpalayam Road on Sundays has turned a nightmare as the stretch near the Vadavalli bus terminus is very congested.
Traders with their goods at the weekly market, consumers gathering at the place to buy goods, vehicles that are parked there to off-load goods, customers' vehicles and buses entering and exiting the Vadavalli bus terminus use every bit of road space available, leaving very little space to move around.
The stretch used to be crowded but not as congested as it was in the past few weeks, after the State Government threw open the terminus for public use, say traders. In fact, the terminus has only added to their congestion.
Two Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation drivers plying vehicles on the '1C' route, on condition of anonymity, say entering and exiting the terminus are almost difficult as there is hardly any space to drive on the stretch. And, exiting is every more difficult, there is hardly any turning radius.
The drivers say that the condition inside the bus stand is no better as the space earmarked for bus bays is less compared to those apportioned for commuters to wait.
R. Radhakrishnan, a trader, says there is hardly any space for traders to spread their goods as vehicles move very close to the goods.
K. Baskaran, a regular visitor to the market, says those coming to the market are sometimes forced to step on to the goods as there is no space available.
Of late, parking has also been a problem and there have been instances of two-wheeler thefts.
There are over 300 traders who participate in the weekly market.
The new bus terminus has changed the place for worse, complains banana vendor S.V. Pandian. Aside from spreading his goods on the road, he has also parked his autorickshaw he uses to transport the goods.
It is because of the large heartedness that the autorickshaw drivers show to traders like him by moving their vehicles that they are able to conduct their business, he adds.
Consumer activist K. Kathirmathiyon says that the way the Coimbatore Corporation went about designing and building the bus terminus shows lack of application of mind.
The civic body should have removed all the encroachments in the area and designed the terminus in such a way that it can accommodate more buses, provides a good turning radius and does not affect the traders.
He wants the corporation to remove all the encroachments to accommodate the traders and take other steps to de-congest the stretch.
Corporation officials say they have started identifying the encroachments and the eviction process will begin soon.
