TIRUNELVELI
Work on dismantling the existing structures in the Tirunelveli Junction bus-stand commenced on Tuesday night to facilitate the reconstruction of 62-year-old cramped bus terminus on an outlay of ₹ 79 crore.
Since the Corporation has proposed to construct an ultra-modern bus stand at Tirunelveli Junction under the ‘Smart City’ programme, the existing dingy structure is being removed. Besides having basement parking to accommodate over 106 cars and 1,629 bikes, the new bus terminus will have 27 bays and 144 shops in the ground plus three floors.
The new bus stand, which is expected to generate annual net revenue of ₹ 1.87 crore after expenditures, will be completed within 18 months, the officials say. Hence, the preliminary work prior to the excavation activities started on Tuesday night.
The removal of compound walls in a few spots around the Tirunelveli junction bus stand commenced shortly after Tuesday midnight and the entry and exit points of the bus terminus were blocked. After demarcating the Tirunelveli Junction bus stand area in the early hours of Wednesday with ‘constructions site’ warning ribbons, the Corporation personnel, armed with earthmovers, started removing the bus shelters, Amma drinking water stall being operated by the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation, signboards etc.
As the traders having their stalls inside the bus stand had been asked to vacate their shops before December 12, most of them had emptied their shops before the deadline. However, the shops functioning in the bus stand’s extension building on the northern side and the shops on the western side were not disturbed in the first phase.
Consequently, the temporary bus stands around the Tirunelveli Junction bus stand became operational on Wednesday. All city and moffussil buses were not allowed to enter the bus terminus and the passengers waiting on the road west of the bus stand, in front of Raja building and at the spot where the omni buses would usually be parked in the night took their buses.
As adequate number of police personnel had not been deployed around the bus stand to regulate the buses coming to one of the most congested spots of the city, commotion and traffic snarls prevailed throughout the day. The situation worsened after the dusk with the arrival of omni buses going to far-off places.
“The Corporation personnel, along with the police officials, will monitor the movement of omni buses for a couple of days to ascertain the difficulties, if any, in the movement of buses around the Tirunelveli junction bus stand. If we happen to notice any bottlenecks, remedial measures will be taken by identifying a new spot to handle the omni buses,” said V. Narayanan Nair, Commissioner (in-charge).