TIRUCHY: Responding to a social media video that highlighted the hardships faced by school students from Meenakshiyur, Kumarapatti, Sukkavalli, Keeranur and nearby villages, and a subsequent report by the TNIE that threw light on the narrow railway subway hindering regular bus operations, the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) on Friday evening introduced a special mini bus service to Puduvadi Government High School. The service was inaugurated by Manapparai MLA R Kathiravan.
TNIE had reported the issue on July 10, a day after the video surfaced online, detailing the students’ daily struggle to reach school and explaining how the narrow railway subway on the Tiruchy-Dindigul railway line had prevented the operation of regular buses on the route.
Students from Nadupatti, Sukkavalli, Meenakshiyur, Kumarapatti and Keeranur had alleged that poor public transport connectivity forced them to walk up to a total of 8 km every day to attend classes at the Government High School in Puduvadi. Earlier only one bus was operated through the area at around 7.45 am and another at about 4.15 pm. To board these buses, students had to walk nearly 2 km to the Dindigul-Tiruchy highway, where the buses halted.
MLA R Kathiravan told TNIE on Saturday the narrow railway subway connecting the villages to the school remained the primary hurdle in operating regular bus services. “We are exploring an alternative route, but the road near the subway is in poor condition and has a steep gradient. Until a permanent solution is found, we have arranged a mini bus instead of a conventional one.
The vehicle, deployed from the Sirumalai sector of the Dindigul branch, will operate as a special school service during the morning and evening hours to meet students’ needs,” he said.
The MLA also claimed that the Puduvadi-Kumarapatti region had remained without adequate bus connectivity for over five decades and added that the long-pending demand had now been addressed through the government’s intervention.