6L people used Kilambakkam bus terminus in five days: Govt
Chennai: Amid backlash over delays and crowding at the Kilambakkam bus terminus during the Bakrid and muhurtham weekend rush, state govt claimed that more than 6 lakh passengers were transported in 11,026 special and regular buses from June 4 to 8.
State transport officials said 3,028 buses, including 936 specials, operated out of Chennai on June 7 alone, ferrying 1.66 lakh passengers.
This comes days after hundreds of stranded passengers staged a road roko on NH-45 outside Kilambakkam late on Wednesday night, blocking traffic for nearly four hours. With complaints mounting, State Express Transport Corporation (SETC) has now blamed long-running flyover work on the GST Road stretch between Maduranthakam and Melmaruvathur for the cascading delays.
SETC managing director R Mohan, in a letter to National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), urged urgent widening of the single-lane service road that has become a choke point for buses arriving from southern districts. The letter notes that vehicles get trapped for up to 1.5km in this bottleneck, losing 45 minutes to 1 hour in the process. "During holidays, the situation worsens with heavy vehicles slowed by pothole-ridden service roads," it said.
NHAI officials said they have already provided a two-lane service road but blamed the narrowed usable width on vehicles parked by residents and TNSTC buses halting at roadside eateries. They assured that two underpasses being built at Padalam and Uthiramerur would ease congestion within 8-9 months.
Meanwhile, the crowding has triggered sharp political responses. AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami slammed DMK govt for opening Kilambakkam without proper planning.
"People are still suffering one and a half years after the new terminus opened. The govt couldn't even ensure basic bus availability," he said.
TVK's Nirmal Kumar also criticised the "hurried opening" of the terminus, calling it a failure in transport connectivity. "From day 1, passengers have struggled to even reach Kilambakkam. On June 4, people waited with infants for hours, and the govt blamed festival restrictions to mask its mismanagement," he said.
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