Commuters, including students, women and farmers, from key farming villages along the Jawadhu Hills can now travel frequently as bus services for four new routes, connecting these villages with Vellore town and Ambur, were introduced on Monday.
Accompanied by S. Nataraj, general manager, Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC), Vellore zone, District Collector P. Kumaravel Pandian flagged off the buses.
Of the four new routes, two will connect villages in Anaicut taluk along the hills with the central parts of Vellore Town.
“The new bus routes will help students and traders reach Vellore town. Earlier, they had to switch two or three buses to reach the town,” said Mr. Nataraj.
The new routes are: Vellore-Guruvarajapalayam (13/A) and Vellore-Odugathur, which will service several hamlets in the Anaicut region; Anaicut-Asanampattu village (8/B), which will run to around 80 villages along the Jawadhu Hills; and Ambur-Odugathur village (12), which will also service some areas in Tirupattur district.
ROB nears completion
The ₹38.74-crore rail over bridge (ROB) that will replace the existing level crossing on Puducherry-Krishnagiri Road, between the Tiruvannamalai and Thandurai railway stations, will be ready by the end of December.
Tiruvannamalai District Collector B. Murugesh and Minister for Public Works Department E.V. Velu on Monday inspected the work done by the State Highways Department, which is in the final stages of completion.
A long-standing demand of residents in Tiruvannamalai, the under-construction bridge, which will be a short route for pilgrims and travellers from Puducherry, will be 666 m in length, with 15-m approach roads and 7-m wide service roads.
Highway officials said the Puducherry-Krishnagiri Road connected Puducherry, Tindivanam, Gingee, Tiruvannamalai, Chengam, Singarapettai, Krishnagiri, Hosur and Bengaluru. Once the bridge opens by January, traffic congestion on the route will be reduced, they added.
