COIMBATORE: Devotees have raised concerns about the lack of cleanliness at the Maruthamalai bus stand, located at the foothills, which falls under the Somayampalayam panchayat.
With waste dumped all over the bus stand, devotees demanded that officers clean it immediately to ensure cleanliness.
A devotee, K Devanathan of Erode, who visited Maruthamalai on Thursday, told TNIE that he was welcomed by waste dumped at the bus stand while getting off the bus. Plastic bottles, covers, liquor bottles, and hotel waste were scattered all over, leaving devotees unable to stand or sit due to the foul smell.
He urged that, as large numbers of devotees come here for darshan, this place should be maintained neatly. A corporation bus driver C Sasikumar (name changed) alleged that cleanliness workers of the Somayamapalyam panchayat do not clean the bus stands regularly and due to this, the bus stand has turned a garbage pile.
"Even though the panchayat has installed cameras with sound systems that announce 'Don't dump waste here' at the bus stand, shopkeepers continue to litter the place. But, sanitary officers neither monitor this nor levy fines. This shows the officers' sheer lethargy," he alleged.
The bus crew also said that not only is the mother-and-child feeding room closed at the bus stand, but some people also consume alcohol at night, and they urged increased police monitoring. Repeated attempts to reach officers of Somayampalayam panchayat went in vain.
