Unuathorised parking of vehicles — most noticeably, cabs, private buses and autorickshaws — on a section of Mount-Poonamallee Main Road close to the Metropolitan Transport Corporation terminus in Iyppanthangal, is hindering free traffic movement during rush hour. Mount-Poonamallee Main Road, which comes under the maintenance of the State Highways Department, has now been widened between St. Thomas Mount and Sri Ramachandra Medical College cum Hospital (SRMC), which is located in Porur.
The stretch between Iyyapanthangal and Poonamallee, which accounts for around four kilometres of the road, has not been widened due to land acquisition issues. The narrow section of the road in front of the bus terminus witnesses chaotic traffic during rush hour, and unauthorised parking further compounds the problem. Commuters complain that they find it difficult to access the bus terminus due to the unauthorised parking near the facility. “Commuters have to walk on the narrow carriageway to reach the bus terminus as vehicles occupy empty spaces along the stretch especially in the evening hours,” says K. Mahalakshmi, a commuter from Kattupakkam, a village near Iyyapanthangal.
The Iyyapanthangal bus terminus operated buses to many parts of the city, and therefore enjoys a huge patronage. With the bus terminus in Poonamallee being congested, as it also serves as the halting point for mofussil buses, MTC commuters from areas such as Kattupakkam, Moulivakkam, Mangadu, Karambakkam, Periya Kolathuvancheri, Thundalam, Porur Gardens, Rajappa Nagar and Pattur board buses from the Iyyapanthangal bus terminus every day. Besides, the facility is of great use to people visiting the Sri Ramachandra Medical College Hospital, which is located around 200 metres from the bus terminus.
“Steps will be taken soon to prevent such illegal parking on the stretch,” say police sources.
