TIRUCHY: Over 50,000 people live and work in the Kattur area, where several public sector companies like Bharat Heavy Electronics Limited (BHEL) and Ordnance Factory Tiruchy (OFT) are situated, apart from several schools and colleges.
Despite the area coming within city corporation limits, few buses stop at Manjathidal, the nearest bus stop in the area. Several petitions have been filed, but no action has been taken, say residents and activists. The bus stop is situated on the road through which buses to Thanjavur and Nagapattinam pass by every day.
Since buses don't stop there, people seeking to go to Thanjavur or Tiruchy town are left with no choice but to go to Thiruverumbur bus stop, which is 5 km away. In response to a request in 2016, the TNSTC had asked buses to stop at Manjathidal.
While buses did stop for a few weeks, things soon reverted very soon. M Senthil Kumar from the CPM said, "Despite specific instructions, buses are not stopping there. Whenever we submit a petition to the district collector regarding this, buses stop for a few days, and then they go back to their old ways.
We expect a permanent solution to our problem rather than the temporary ones that fail every time." A senior TNSTC official told TNIE, "We have instructed buses to stop there, and if the situation persists, we will discuss the issue with our staff and come up with a permanent solution." When contacted, an RTO department official said, "We will check on private buses as Manjathidal is on the list of stops where they should stop between Tiruchy and Thanjavur."