Commuters boarding buses from the stopovers on both sides of the Porur toll plaza on Chennai Bypass want conditions around these stopovers improved. The list includes LED street lights, reflectors, safe service lanes and an ambulance.
The demand follows the easing of lockdown restrictions and the resultant resumption of many bus services — both MTC and long-distance bus services.
The toll plaza at Porur is one of two such facilities found on the 32-km-long four-lane Chennai Bypass. The other toll plaza is located in Ambattur.
“The bus stops at the toll plaza help residents from nearby areas board long-distance buses without having to travel to Koyambedu or Vandalur to do so. However, better facilities are needed at the toll plaza,” says S. Priya, a commuter from Porur.
The stopovers and their surroundings at the toll plaza lack basic facilities including sufficient lighting and proper shelters for commuters.
A huge number of hawkers can also be seen at the toll plaza selling eatables and a variety of knick-knacks. Toilets at the plaza don’t function properly, and this problem often includes lack of water. The toll plaza at Porur does not have reflectors, warning signboards, barricades and is not sufficiently illuminated at night.
Further, vehicles especially lorries would be parked on both sides of the toll plaza especially at night, and due to poor illumination, there is the risk of motorists, especially motorcyclists, accidentally ramming their vehicles into the stationary heavy vehicles. At night, motorcyclists navigate this section, using the headlights from the motorcycles and and street below the Bypass on Mount-Poonamallee Main Road. Motorcyclists point out that with the help of this illumination, they manage to notice the lorries parked near the toll plazas.
“Steps will be taken to provide basic facilities at the Porur toll plaza soon,” says an NHAI official.