MADURAI
A public interest litigation petition filed before the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Friday complained that Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation buses were not plying through Keelasevalpatti and Malaikudipatti villages in Sivaganga district.
The petitioner, A. Murugesan of Sivaganga, complained that Keelasevalpatti was a centre for trade to close to 30 villages in the region and residents were dependent on TNSTC buses plying from Karaikudi to Tiruchi and from Madurai to Thanjavur for their daily routine.
But these buses were operated along the bypass road and not through Keelasevalpatti. It was difficult for villagers to travel for close to half an hour to reach the bypass road. When the drivers were questioned, they simply answered that no stop was marked for the village.
He said as a result of this schoolchildren, college students and the public were put to hardship. Even for medical emergency, they were unable to reach hospitals in time. Though an RTI information revealed that Keelasevlpatti and nearby Malaikudipatti were marked as route for buses, they wilfully avoided them.
A Division Bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and N. Sathish Kumar directed notice to the district authorities of Sivaganga and adjourned the case for further hearing by four weeks.