Over 2 lakh people leave city ahead of lockdown

After the announcement of the lockdown, people thron-ged the Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus (CMBT) to catch a bus to native places. However, the passengers’ influx at the CMBT came down on Sunday evening as against the expectations, said a Transport official. 

As of Sunday 8 pm, all the transport corporations together operated 4,010 buses from the city to various destinations across the State carrying 1.80 lakh passengers. “We had planned to operate up to 9,000 buses but the number of passengers was less than expected. During the last year’s lockdown, there was a heavy rush and we were not able to meet the demand. In contrast, the rush declined during the evening,” the official said, adding many might have left the city after the announcement of the partial lockdown from May 6. 

A senior Transport official said more than two lakh people had travelled to their native places using the government and the omnibuses. “There was a heavy traffic beyond Tambaram on the GST Road and Chennai-Bengaluru Highway owing to a large number of people leaving the city in their vehicles,” the official added. 

However, after the lockdown was announced, Koyambedu was chaotic on Saturday. “Social distancing went for a toss. People were rushing to enter the buses as it arrived at the parking bay at CMBT,” said K Saravanan, who left for native Tiruvannamalai on Saturday night.