Tiruporur bus terminus cries for attention

CHENNAI: Despite being one of the busiest bus termini in Chengalpattu with thousands of commuters using it every day, the Tiruporur bus terminus is a nightmare for commuters, as it lacks even the most basic facilities.

Situated on OMR, the Tiruporur Town Panchayat is well-known for its Murugan temple. Thousands of people from across the State visit the temple daily. Additionally, many community halls, shopping complexes, and IT companies are located in OMR around Tiruporur. So, the neighbourhood is bustling at all times during the day, and well into the night during the weekends.

In this context, the Tiruporur bus terminus, from where buses to Adyar, Tiruvanmaiyur, T Nagar, Kundrathur, Tambaram, Kalpakkam, Mahabalipuram, Chengalpattu and Tirukazhukundram are operated, has some of the dilapidated public facilities in the city. Seats in the terminus are broken, and some are even missing. Most of them cannot be used, as they need to be repaired. This affects predominantly senior citizens, pregnant women, and people with disabilities.

“People are forced to sit on the floor due to a lack of seats,” pointed out D Damodaran, a resident of Karugambakkam in Tiruporur. “A few months ago, I was waiting for the bus with my mother who was ill. She couldn’t even stand for a few minutes but when we looked for a chair, we couldn’t find even one that was in a usable condition. It felt as if we were waiting for a long time for the bus as my mother had no chair to sit on.”

Even the garbage is not cleared every day, and there’s always a foul odour that permeates the air in and around the terminus. Another major issue at the terminus is the irregular functioning of the timekeeper office, which leads to undue delay in arrival and departure of the buses.

“After 8 pm, drivers do not operate any buses in Tiruporur. So, the people are forced to choose taxis and auto rickshaws at night. This leads to fleecing by auto drivers and taxis who increase the fare at night and charge up to Rs 150 for just a 2-km drop,” said another commuter. “Even those visiting Tiruporur for the Murugan temple avoid the terminus and prefer taking taxis and autos even if they have to pay a lot. Several requests have been made to the panchayat to restore the terminus but no action has been taken yet.”

When contacted, Tiruporur Executive Officer Sangeetha told DT Next, “The plans to improve the Tiruporur bus terminus are going on. Hopefully, within the next few weeks the work will get started.”