CHENNAI : As buses, particularly private omni buses, continue to park their vehicles outside the lane allotted to them, regulating traffic on the GST Road in Perungalathur continues to be a major problem. The Tambaram-Perungalathur stretch has been witnessing severe traffic blocks for over two years now. According to official records, more than 1,500 buses halt at the Perungalathur bus stop on weekdays and the number surges by 500 on weekends.
“Dedicated lanes have been allotted for omni buses. However, they use the entire road to pick up passengers, not leaving space for even motorists to pass by. This leads to massive traffic jam,” said Abdul Rahman, a cab driver. Kumaran, an autorickshaw driver in Tambaram said, “The distance between Tambaram and Perungalathur is only about 3.5 kilometres.
However, due to the ruckus that omni buses create, it takes anywhere between 40 minutes to an hour to cross the stretch, even during weekdays.” Suggesting an alternative, Venkataraman Jagannathan, a resident of Perungalathur and social activist, said, “Just like how Alandur pick-up point was shifted for the omni buses to an interior road nearby, similar action must be taken at Perungalathur.” The residents of Perungalathur, who access the bus terminus by foot, are of the opinion that it is an unplanned project by the Tamil Nadu government as the pedestrians often risk their life while crossing the road.
The city traffic police in 2010, diverted moffusil buses through Chennai Bypass Road from Koyambedu to facilitate the construction of Chennai Metro rail. When contacted, a traffic police official in the area said, “We try our best to regulate the traffic, but it gets uncontrollable during the weekends. We are looking for alternative places for pick-up.”