With the rising passenger traffic and steady trickle of tourists, the congestion in the Rajiv Gandhi bus terminus in Orleanpet has been getting worse.
The terminus sees a daily traffic of over 1,000 buses, including those coming from the neighbouring States and a footfall of 50,000. Passengers and traders have a harrowing time as the terminus is engulfed in a plethora of problems.
Built in 1986, the bus stand had separate parking bays for buses bound to Chennai, Cuddalore and Villupuram. Although the number of buses had reached over 1,000, the facilities have not been upgraded proportionately. The bus terminus serves as a combined facility for both inter-State and town buses. This has now become a source of trouble for passengers and the fleet operators.
Inadequate bus bays
According to a municipal official, “the bus stand has 28 dedicated parking bays for inter-State and mofussil buses. However, with the steady growth in vehicle density and opening of new routes, the available space is hardly adequate for the hundreds of buses operating out of the terminus. The buses are parked in a haphazard manner and passengers have to struggle to wait at whatever little space is available near the platforms. The problem gets compounded during the festival season as there is a huge rush. Another terminus can help reduce the congestion,” he said.
The need to bifurcate the bus terminal and open separate terminals for inter-State and mofussil buses well-equipped with facilities for parking and passengers had been a long-felt need.
It has become imperative to build a new bus stand to cope with the increasing traffic congestion in the existing facility. The delay in creating a separate terminal would only add to the confusion.
The terminus at the arterial Maraimalai Adigal Salai remains congested round-the-clock as private buses are parked on both sides of the road for want of space.
Consequently, inter-State and government buses find it difficult to even enter the bus stand through the main entrance.
Two-wheelers are parked in the bus bays causing hardship to both the bus crew and the commuters.
New bus stands planned
“Already, there was a plan to have a spacious bus terminus at Velrampet near Mudaliarpet. A vacant site was identified on the East Coast Road for setting up the bus stand a couple of years ago. However, there has been very little progress thereafter. The government has now proposed a modern bus station with facilities for commuters to stay overnight under the Smart City project,” an official said.
S. Balou, general secretary of the Puducherry Traders Federation, said the bus stand was badly maintained. The toilets were dirty and the water was inadequate. There have been several cases of thefts reported in the terminus. Over 20 closed circuit television cameras (CCTVs) and the police outpost remained non-functional.
According to A.C. Velarasan, a resident, “the bus terminus lacks facilities such as a cloakroom, an ATM and a waiting room for passengers. At present, waiting commuters have to sleep on the damaged chairs and concrete seats in the terminus. Unauthorised shops have come up on the eastern end where mofussil buses are parked.”
According to G. Kathiresan, president of the Puducherry Bus Stand Traders Association, though specific time was allotted for the departure and arrival of buses, it is seldom followed, especially by private buses.
A number of private buses remain parked at the bays even after their allotted time for taking up repair work, including changing of tyres. Though repeated representations have been made to the authorities, action has not been taken against the operators of private buses,” he added.