Trichy City Corporation may shelve bus terminus at Kottapattu

Considering the huge outcry among public against selecting Kottapattu as the ‘ideal’ location for establishing the Integrated Bus Terminus (IBT), it seems that Trichy City Corporation (TCC) has dropped the move. The civic body through the Commissionerate of Municipal Administration (CMA) and other stakeholders has been making progress in approaching the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) to include Trichy in the bus port project along with Salem, Coimbatore, and Madurai to establish a modern ‘bus port’ facility.

Considering the geographical significance of the city in serving as a hub for more than five central districts, an integrated bus stand was long pending for Trichy. However, owing to administrative hurdles, political interference, and other constraints in finding a suitable land, the IBT project remained grounded for the last 22 years. With daily bus service numbering more than 3,600, the 4.5-acre central bus stand is a choking mess every weekend.


Meanwhile, at the MGR centenary event held in Trichy on October 26, 2017, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswamy announced that the IBT would be set up in Kottapattu, a long time demand of the local people. But the hurried announcement backfired and came as a shocker even to the officials since Kottapattu was already a congested spot unviable for a facility like IBT.

Despite the public criticism, in January 2018, the civic body even invited proposal from consultants to prepare a detailed project report (DPR) for IBT in an extent of 90 acres. With no palpable development since then, TOI learnt that the local body is on the verge of dropping the IBT project at Kottapattu. But the official announcement to drop the site and find alternative solution for establishing the IBT is awaited. "IBT in Kottapattu is most likely to be ruled out considering the technical constraints involved as well as taking note of the public outcry. We have made progress in reaching to the union road transport ministry seeking a bus port like facility in Trichy," an official source said. Trichy Corporation was said to be impressed with setting up a bus port project proposed in Salem, Coimbatore, and Madurai cities on par with facilities available at airports. "IBT in Kottapattu is most unlikely to happen considering the technical constraints involved," official source said. Trichy MP P Kumar also acknowledged that discussions are underway to include Trichy in the bus port project of the union government. If Trichy was included in the bus port initiative, sources said, the authorities would naturally drop Kottapattu.

Identification of land for the bus port would be the duty of TCC. The union road transport ministry may support financially and technically the project if suitable land was identified by the corporation, sources said. With Kottapattu site finally ruled out, 30 acres in Panchapur appears to be the lone available land and viable spot for establishing IBT in Trichy.

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