A harrowing wait for connectivity
Despite being one of the rapidly growing areas in the
city over the past couple of decades, thousands of residents in colonies
beyond Ponmalaipatti still do not have proper access to public
transport.
Residents at Ponneripuram, Chekkadi,
Mullai Nagar, Adaikala Annai Nagar, Thiru Nagar, Thiru Nagar Extension,
Anthony Nagar, Ganesh Nagar, Nathamadipatti and Keezhakurichi have to
trek long distances every day to board a bus at Ponmalaipatti or at
Armoury Gate at Golden Rock.
Thiru Nagar is said to
be among one of the earliest residential layouts approved in Tiruchi
district in the 1980s while the other colonies have mushroomed over the
past 10 to 20 years.
All these areas are served by a
lone government bus that operates on the Chathram Bus
Stand-Nathamadipatti route via Armoury Gate in Golden Rock. A private
bus service operating on the route since 1982 has been discontinued. The
lone government bus has been operating since 1990, hardly meeting the
requirement of the people of the area.
With a slew of schools located in different parts of the locality, students have to depend on bicycles or go on foot to school.
Office-goers
have to pedal up to Ponmalaipatti and leave the bicycles on the road
sides near the bus stop and continue their commute to the city by buses.
A large number of construction workers from neighbouring villages
commute from Ponneripuram to the city every day.
In
the absence of bus service, chain snatching incidents are frequent as
women have to walk back to their homes from Ponmalaipatti at night, says
N. Muthuraman, a resident of Ponneripuram.
Patients
and pregnant women visiting the well-patronised Keezhakurichi Primary
Health Centre are at the mercy of autorickshaws or trek all the way.
“It
is a mystery why bus services are not operated to our areas. We have
conducted signature campaigns and submitted representations to the Tamil
Nadu State Transport Corporation, the Collector, the MLA, the MP and
even the Chief Minister’s Special Cell. Yet, there has been no action so
far,” he says.
The residents demand that buses
operating to Ponmalaipatti be extended up to
Ponneripuram/Nathamadipatti, a distance of just about 4.2 km. They point
out that there was no proper bus stop at Ponmalaipatti and what serves
as terminus for the bus stand that belonged to the Railways.
A proper bus terminus could be created at Keezhakurichi/Nathamadipatti if only the Ponmalaipatti buses are extended.
The
government could at least consider introducing mini-bus and
share-autorickshaw services to meet the requirements of the people, says
K.C. Neelamegam, State Advisor, Makkal Sakthi Iyakkam.
TNSTC officials, the residents say, cite the narrow road beyond
Ponmalaippatti as the reason for not operating the buses. However, they
reject the contention saying that the road is about 3.75 metres wide and
lorries ply on on the road. The road could also be widened if
encroachments were removed.
A TNSTC official said
that he had already conducted a survey on the route a few days back and
steps were being taken to extend buses running up to Ponmalaipatti.
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