CHENNAI: AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Tuesday said the DMK government has been subjecting the commuters to untold hardships by not replacing ‘condemned’ buses in the state transport corporations’ fleet.
In a statement, Palaniswami said there have been reports of frequent breakdown of buses owned by the corporations and people being forced to carry umbrellas to travel in buses due to leaking roofs of vehicles.
Palaniswami claimed though the transport minister has been making frequent announcements about buying new buses including e-buses, nothing has happened so far. He urged the government to buy buses so that the people could travel without fear.
The AIADMK leader pointed out in other states, private players operate 70% of the public transport and only 30% are run by the government. “Contrary to this, in TN, 80% of the public transport is run by the government, benefitting poor people,” he said.
He pointed out during the previous AIADMK regimes, buses were replaced frequently and a specific life time was fixed. “The public transport is being operated for the benefit of the people and the losses incurred are borne by the government. However, during the past three years of the DMK regime, new buses have not been bought and badly-damaged buses are being operated. Tyres and spare parts have not been procured properly, and footboards of buses are getting detached from the vehicles and falling on the road,” Palaniswami added.