Kottapattu the right location: Civic body , Locals thinks Mannarpuram.

Priority to urban development Speaking to Express, civil activists, including C Balasubramanian, president, District Exnora, said that a place like Mannarpuram, which has reportedly about 150 acres of land, should be considered for an integrated bus station. The land in Mannarpuram has been allotted for Defence activities of the Central government. C Balasubramanian, who is also an environmentalist said, "It is okay to deforest the thousands of trees in the Defence land in Mannarpuram and urban development is a top priority". The officials with the town planning section in Tiruchy Corporation said, "We did try to procure the land from the Defence ministry during the UPA regime. We even tried to exchange the land in ham Kulathur, which is 26 km away from Mannarpuram, to get the Defence land. But, we were turned down by the Defence ministry then. We were left with Just two options; Panchapur and Kottapattu, and hence suggested Kottapattu as the primary choice." 
THE Tiruchy City Corporation defends the decision on establishing an integrated bus station in Kottapattu, against the interest of the locals and activists. "We have 90 acres of land to establish the facility in Kottapatu. The construction of an integrated bus station is likely to occupy 70-75 acres of land. This land availability is ten times more than the existing facility in Central Bus Station in Cantonment. It is twice as large as the combined availability of Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus (28 acres) and Chennai Omni Bus Stand (7 acres)," said a senior Town planning official. He added that no buildings would be demolished, particularly from the premises of Tiruchy Central Prison, to make space for the new facility. The decision to build an integrated bus station in Tiruchy was announced by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, during MGR Birth Centenary Celebration event, here on October 26. Though the citizen activists have ex-pressed their unhappiness over the newly proposed site for the integrated bus station, the Corporation has decided to go by the plans. "The access to the site at Kottapattu is narrow right next to Pudukkottai Road, which is already congested with traffic.
Will the bus station have enough gateways for passengers and buses to enter? As the garbage dumping increases as the public starts using it, more birds are likely to visit the area. This may even lead to in-creased bird hits at Tiruchirappalli Inter-national Airport in future," said H Ghouse Baig, secretary, District Consumer Protection Council. He also cited the example of a peacock which reportedly collided into the fuselage of a landing air-plane in Coimbatore International air-port, on Sunday. M Sekaran, president, Federation of Consumer and Service Organisations said, "The convicts in Tiruchy Central Prison, which is located adjacent to the proposed site, are just one wall away to board the buses and escape." Sekaran, who has been advocating for an integrated bus station for a long time raised a doubt if the site can accommodate all areas for passenger accommodation, hotels, shops, police booths and the like within. The corporation should decide after a discussion with all the stakeholders, including consumers, bus operators, civil activists, environmentalists, engineers and town planning experts." The town planning officials told Ex-press, "We are not done with our analysis and blueprint of the proposed site. We are likely to have another 15 acres."
`Choose site near Mannarpuram'

FARMERS Association members filed a petition with the District Collector, here, on Mon-day, stating that the newly proposed site for construction of the integrated bus station in Kottapattu is not appropriate, and urged the state government to choose a site near Mannarpuram. M P China Diu-at district president Tamil Nadu Farmers Association, Tiruchy said, "Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, during MGR centenary celebrations, had proposed that a new integrated bus station for relocating the central bus station will be established at Kottapattu in the district. Earlier, the same was proposed to be built at Mannarpuram and Panjappur, near the National Highway. But the current location in Kottapattu lacks proper accessibility and infrastructure. As Kottapattu has narrow roads, the buses may find it difficult to arrive and depart from the bust station, he added. Instead of constructing the bus station in an inadequate space in Kottapattu, the bus station can be placed near Mannarpuram De-fence grounds, as it is easier to access.
source: epaper . newindianexpress. com//c/23320427