CHENNAI : Thousands of inter-city bus commuters across Tamil Nadu, specifically in Chennai and Coimbatore, were left in a lurch as the State Transport department failed to make necessary arrangements. Visuals of commuters travelling on rooftops of buses went viral on social media. Most of the commuters said they were going home to cast their votes and also for the extended weekend.
In Chennai, several commuters were left stranded at the Koyambedu bus terminus throughout Wednesday night. The transport department, however, maintained that regular buses were plying as per schedule. The hassle, they said, was due to extra rush of passengers travelling to vote and for Chitra Pournami. Around 1 am, a group of infuriated commuters staged a road blockade on the inner ring road and police resorted to lathi-charge.
Meanwhile, in Coimbatore, hundreds of irate commuters blocked roads and staged protests on Wednesday night near the Singanallur bus stand. Public blamed the authorities for not making enough arrangements for them to go home and cast their vote. Long queues were seen at the new bus stand near Saibaba Temple and at the Gandhipuram bus stand. “There are 200 buses leaving from Singanallur bus stand to southern districts on a daily basis. In view of elections and Chitra Pournami, we have been operating an additional 153 buses since Tuesday evening. But the crowd witnessed is unprecedented,” said an official.
Mahadevan Thangaraj, an engineer working in Chennai, tweeted: “9.30 pm to midnight: by bike from Nungambakkam to Perungalathur; heavy traffic. 12.30 to 08.00 am: to Madurai in the hot seat of bus driver cabin. 8.30 to 11.00 am: Standing in bus to Thoothukudi. 11.45 am: cast my vote.”
Speaking to the media after casting his vote, Transport Minister MR Vijayabhaskar said in Karur: “We did not expect so many people would be travelling. We have made all arrangements for their return journey.” Roads leading into the city were jammed due to heavy traffic on Wednesday night.In a statement, the Transport department said that in addition to 2,950 regular buses, 1,510 special buses were operated from Chennai to cater for the passengers.