The New Indian Express ·
Festival rush chokes Chennai roads; trains overcrowded
CHENNAI: Chennai’s GST Road and suburban railway stations witnessed a heavy rush on Friday and Saturday as people headed to their hometowns ahead of the three-day Vinayagar Chaturthi holiday weekend, with the festival falling on Monday.
Trains bound for the southern districts saw heavy rush, with the Kanyakumari Express particularly crowded on both days. People were seen hanging from train doors and several passengers complained about unreserved passengers crowding reserved coaches and space near doors and restrooms.
Traffic remained heavy on the GST Road, particularly from Pallavaram and Chromepet to Tambaram, Perungalathur, Urapakkam, Kilambakkam and Singaperumal Koil. Cars, government buses, private omnibuses, vans and autorickshaws were all headed towards the southern districts.
A senior traffic police official said vehicle movement was heavy, but there was no major congestion. The rush was also attributed to the auspicious day for marriages, with vehicles carrying wedding parties adding to the traffic volume along the GST Road.
At Kilambakkam, passengers waiting along the roadside to board private omnibuses and pedestrians crossing the GST Road to reach the bus terminus added to the pressure. Police personnel were deployed at key junctions in Tambaram to regulate traffic.
Some passengers alleged bus tickets were cancelled at the last minute and that they were asked to board a different bus. Speaking to reporters, two youngsters said, “We bought tickets a month ago to go to Theni. Half an hour after the scheduled starting time of 9 pm, we were asked to take a different bus. Also, we booked for eight persons, but tickets have been cancelled for five and diverted to a different bus for the three. We are not getting any proper response from transport officials here.”
When asked about this, an official from MTC told TNIE the passengers had themselves cancelled the tickets and were claiming that they had been cancelled at the last minute.
According to the transport department, a total of 2,354 buses are planned for the Vinayaka Chathurthi festival. This included the 1,099 buses normally operated from the Kilambakkam Bus Terminus and 1,255 additional special buses.
Of the 2,354 buses planned for operation on Friday night, 2,213 were operated to various districts based on passenger numbers and travel demand. Of the remaining 141 buses kept on standby as a precautionary measure, 41 have been continuously operated since Saturday to meet passenger demand. Passengers also complained about high fares on private omni buses, alleging fares to Madurai, Tirunelveli, Kanyakumari, Salem and Coimbatore had touched Rs 4,000 per seat in some services.
Meanwhile, Tambaram railway station witnessed a heavy rush, with workers from northern states and residents of the southern districts travelling to their hometowns. Unreserved trains to Nagercoil, Manamadurai and other destinations were packed. An RPF officer said their regular eight-hour shifts had been increased to 12 hours to prevent untoward incidents. “We have been asked to make sure people don’t crowd at foot-overbridges and people hanging from unreserved coaches don’t fall on platforms,” he said. Southern Railway officials said they are checking every station and asking unreserved passengers to leave reserved coaches.