CHENNAI: With lakhs of people returning to Chennai after the Pongal holidays, railway stations and bus terminals witnessed heavy crowds on Sunday. The GST Road between Chengalpattu and Tambaram, and the Bengaluru bypass stretch from Sriperumbudur to Maduravoyal, faced severe traffic congestion from Saturday midnight.
The highways saw massive congestion not only due to the Pongal holidays but also because the festival coincided with extended weekend holidays. The city’s arterial roads, including ECR and OMR, also experienced bumper-to-bumper traffic.
Trains operating from Madurai, Tiruchy, Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, Nagercoil, and various parts of Kerala have been operating with full occupancy from Friday. Similarly, government buses from the southern districts were too overcrowded. Meanwhile, private omni bus fares surged by 30-50% compared to regular rates due to high demand.
Chennai Egmore and Tambaram railway stations, Tambaram bus stand, and the Kalaignar Centenary Bus Terminus (KCBT) witnessed a heavy rush of passengers from Sunday morning. Many passengers were forced to spend long hours on railway platforms due to limited train services on Sunday.
Similarly, passengers arriving at KCBT had to shell out Rs 500 to Rs 600 for cab services owing to limited bus connectivity to the northern parts of the city. The Tambaram bus stand also saw heavy crowds, with buses from Tiruvannamalai, Tiruchy and other districts bringing hundreds of commuters into Chennai.
S Rajalingam, a resident of Anna Nagar, said traffic congestion was severe on the GST Road from the Athur toll plaza (Tindivanam), with vehicles crawling at around 30 kmph. “The entire national highway was choked as the weekend coincided with the end of the Pongal holidays. The NH stretch from Tindivanam to Tambaram needs to be widened at the earliest,” he said.
Similarly, government buses took nearly two hours to cover the Sriperumbudur-CMBT stretch due to heavy congestion on the Bengaluru bypass. R Jagan, a TNSTC bus driver, said, “Commuters had travelled from Chennai to their native places over four to five days for the Pongal festival. But most of them are returning in a span of just two days, leading to a spike in vehicular traffic on highways,” he said.
6,820 special buses
According to transport department officials, to facilitate the return journey between January 16 and 19, apart from the regular 2,092 daily services, 6,820 special buses were operated from various parts of the state to Chennai. In addition, 9,820 buses were operated for inter-district travel outside Chennai, taking the total number of buses operated during the return rush to 25,008.
