With heavy rain lashing Chennai and the suburbs till Friday, the public transport system was paralysed.
With the flooding of arterial roads, Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) services were hit. Commuters alleged that several services were stopped and MTC was running a skeletal bus service. Various sections of the suburban train services were affected as tracks were flooded.
While the MTC officials claim buses were operated normally despite heavy rain, people noted that only a few buses plied on the roads. They also complained about poor maintenance of buses, saying that several of them had leaky floors.
Arjun, a resident of Avadi, alleged that bus services between Avadi and Thiruvallur were stopped, leaving hundreds of commuters stranded.
However, a senior MTC official said buses had been diverted via Red Hills to Thiruvallur due to flooding of CTH Road caused by the breaching of Kavaraplayam lake.
Those commuting by train were no less unhappy. They suffered due to slow operation of trains and poor communication by the railway authorities. With the railway tracks flooded on the Tambaram and Avadi routes, the ‘slow’ movement and halting of trains at several places tested the patience of the passengers.
Kathir, a resident of Ambattur, who boarded the train at 9 a.m. at Ambattur Railway station reached the Moore Market complex railway station at 1 p.m. Describing the experience, she said authorities manning the railway stations should have announced the extent of the delay.
