A four-lane road laid from Gundur along Tiruchi-Pudukkottai National Highway to the IT Park at Navalpattu remains largely underutilised since 2016, apparently due to reluctance of the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation to operate services along the stretch.
The road to a stretch of 4.7 km was constructed by the Highways Department with about ₹6 crore sanctioned by the State Government based on a proposal by the ELCOT (Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu) that a strong link of international standards was a pre-requisite for attracting IT companies.
The road link has resulted in 50,000 sq. ft. built-up space in the IT SEZ getting fully occupied. In view of emerging demand, ELCOT had recently initiated the process for creation of an additional one lakh sq. ft. built-up space.
Five companies such as I-Link Systems Private Limited, Vuram Technology Solutions, GI Tech Gaming Co India Pvt Ltd., V.Dart Technologies Private Limited, V. R. Della Technologies Pvt. Ltd., and units one and two of Scientific Publishing Services Private Ltd., are operating from the existing IT-cum-administrative building. Three among them have started the process of augmenting workforce, a senior official of ELCOT said.
While the gradual growth has reflected in a substantial rise in the number of workforce, public transport has not grown proportionately.
The TNSTC is skirting the four-lane stretch and continues to operate services to the IT Park in a circuitous route along the private land belonging to Ordnance Factory, Tiruchi via Mathur.
According to employees working in the IT Park, the workforce is in excess of 1,000. A few buses are operated by the IT / ITES companies for their employees, and a section of workers commute with two-wheelers. Yet the need for public transport services is highly felt since at least a few hundreds of employees commute in city buses. The travel time in buses between the IT Park and Tiruchi Junction will come down by at least 10 to 15 minutes if the four-lane road is used, according to a section of employees dependent on public transport system.
An ELCOT official said the TNSTC will be approached with a request for operating chartered trips during peak hours along the four-lane stretch. The TNSTC, according to local sources, was apprehensive that ticket collection will go down if the four-lane road is utilised. The Commercial Manager of TNSTC, Tiruchi Region, did not respond to phone call.
