Mini marathons held across State to improve public transport system

CHENNAI: CITU State president A Soundararajan on Sunday said that deterioration of public transport system has led to increase in usage of private transport including two-wheelers and cars which are damaging the environment.

After flagging off a mini marathon organised by the Tamil Nadu State Transport Employees Federation (TNSTEF) at Besant Nagar beach on Sunday along with Health Minister Ma Subramanian, he said, “To prevent this, bus, rail and water transport should be increased, expanded and improved. This would lessen the number of on-road vehicles and decrease the environmental damage.”

He dismissed the notion that the increase in the number of private vehicles and construction of roads were development indicators. “No matter how wide the roads are, the congestion will increase in the next few years. If you want to control that, the public transport system should be improved and made convenient for people to use. Even road accident fatalities far exceed deaths caused by war,” he added.

The mini marathons were conducted at 22 locations across the State including Besant Nagar beach on Sunday. As many as 1,500 people participated in the marathon in the city.

G Sundararajan of Poovulagin Nanbargal said, “The real development is when even the rich people start using public transport frequently.”