Omnibus operators seek parking space in Trichy city for fleet

TRICHY: Private omnibus operators in Trichy running services from the city to Chennai and Bengaluru have urged the district administration to identify space for them to halt their fleets to board passengers. The operators had been utilising the railway land near Kalaiarangam wedding hall as a terminus, but as the contract period lapsed, it was vacated two weeks back.
As private operators are using the roads around the Central bus stand to halt their buses, the city traffic police have been booking cases against the operators as it was causing bottlenecks near the congested bus stand. “We sought temporarily the Thiruvalluvar bus stand space on Rockins road. We would operate from the space until the opening of integrated bus terminus at Panjapur,” said R Balakrishnan, president of Trichy district omnibus operators’ association. Around 30 buses from the city are actively operated to Chennai daily and the number would increase during weekends.
The city police are against the demand since the old Thiruvalluvar bus stand vicinity is already congested and highly prone to traffic congestion. The police said there is no spacious ground within the core areas of the city to accommodate omnibuses. As the private fleets arriving from southern districts shall also halt in the city, the police suggested vacant grounds on the outskirts like Mannarpuram. “The vacant land near Mannarpuram can be utilised temporarily as an omnibus terminus. We are booking cases against operators who park their fleets on main roads to pick up passengers, disrupting traffic movement. A penalty of 600 is being collected from each offender,” said a police officer. The omnibus operators said they would approach ministers and district administration seeking suitable space.