Buses: Chaos at Kilambakkam terminus due to shortage of buses during festival weekend | Chennai News

Chennai: Chaos broke out again at the new Kilambakkam terminus on Saturday night and early Sunday morning during the Pournami festival weekend as frustrated passengers besieged the entrance, forcing police intervention and talks to resume bus operations. Passengers said there are not enough buses to meet the demand. The state transport department had announced that 755 special buses would ply from Chennai to other districts in the state in addition to the regular bus services to cope with the extra rush during the weekend. However, there were not enough buses available at the terminus, forcing passengers travelling to Kallakurichi, Ulundurpet, Jayamkondan, Cuddalore, Villupuram and Salem to wait for over five hours. To make matters worse, the reserve buses that reached Kilambakkam after 2am on Sunday were already full as many passengers boarded at the entrance. Women waiting for buses at the terminus had to either travel standing or wait for another hour, said Kaliammal, an aggrieved passenger. Many passengers, especially those with children, had to sleep on the platforms of the bus stand till the crowd dispersed. They managed to board a bus only on Sunday morning. All regular buses were diverted to Tiruvanamalai for the Girivalam festival, leaving fewer buses for other districts. Transport authorities at the terminus could not provide satisfactory answers to queries from passengers. This situation highlights the dwindling bus fleet strength of transport corporations in Tamil Nadu. The government is buying buses only in smaller quantities, which is not enough to meet the growing demand, said S Kamal, a transport activist. Even after boarding the buses, there were significant delays at the Paranur toll plaza. Commuters reported waiting for at least 10-15 minutes to cross the toll plaza due to the slow functioning of Fastag scanners compared to other toll plazas.

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