PERAMBALUR: A damaged wire has plunged the Perambalur new bus stand area into complete darkness, at least for a year now, causing inconvenience to commuters, especially at night. The bus stand, adjacent to the municipality office, is a point of access to thousands of commuters as buses are available to districts including Chennai, Tiruchy, Cuddalore and Coimbatore.
However, the damaged wire has led to a lack of lighting facilities at the entrance gate as well as inside the stand. As a result, commuters avoid crowding at the entrance and instead take refuge under shop lighting and from the vehicles.
Buses are also reluctant to enter the bus stand at night. Apart from the pitch darkness, the presence of a TASMAC outlet is also adding to the passengers' woes with tipplers camping inside the bus stand. The passengers say, despite filing complaints, no action has been taken so far. R Keerthi, a law college student, told TNIE, "I travel from Perambalur bus stand to college in Tiruchy every day.
The lighting is poorly maintained." "Chain-snatching is prevalent and lack of lighting at the bus stand makes it a perfect place for robbers. Adequate lighting facilities should be provided to prevent this," she added. Besides, people coming from other districts are facing difficulty in spotting the names of districts written inside the bus stand premises due to poor lighting.
T Saroja, a passenger from Ariyalur, said, "Due to insufficient lighting, I feel uncomfortable waiting at the new bus stand with my kids. Even the shops within 50 metres from the entrance gate are not open at night. There is less crowd at the bus stand because of this. "We are fearful of crossing the gate as most tipples consume liquor inside the bus stand.
School students have the cross the area where tipplers camp. This situation has to change. The liquor outlet should be removed from here," she added. When contacted, Perambalur Municipal Commissioner V Ramar told TNIE, "The electric wire at the bus stand is damaged. We are fixing it. The lights will be on from tomorrow."