Parking bay for omni buses by first week of Nov

THE city is to get a separate bus stand for omni buses and will be ready in the first week of No-vember. It will be located between Tiruchy railway station and Central Bus Stand. The Railways has provided two acres opposite Kalaiarangam marriage hall on lease to a private party to establish the facility. Once the stand comes up, the mad scramble among omnibuses for space on the premises of Central Bus Stand would come to an end. Also, residents planning to pick up or drop of passengers for long-distance bus services will no longer have to worry about parking their mo-torbikes or cars as the omni bus stand would have adequate space. The new stand for long-distance bus services will have parking space for more than 50 buses.

 It will also have shops, toilets and parking for two-wheelers and cars. The decision to provide the land on lease by Railways would not only give it extra in-come but will add much-needed parking space to the city. "We cannot park buses at the bus stand in the daytime as they would have to provide space for city or intra-state buses. So, we had no other options other than parking our buses in the city's' outskirts. The completion of this bus stand will end our wor-ries about illegal parking," said Sundara Pandian, a bus owner.

With the parking space crunch being a major concern Tiruchy, the move of the Railways to give its unutilised land would help city residents, too. According to sources, the two acres had been lying vacant for more than 20 years. Sources said the Railways is also planning to execute similar other projects to effectively utilise vacant land under its control. "More than the Railways' income, this will avoid congestion at Central Bus Stand at night. Currently, long-distance private buses are also parked out-side the bus stand at night and the new facility would pave way for smooth traffic flow The decision is highly beneficial to the city," said S Narayanaswamy, a city resident.

End to mad scramble Once the stand comes up. the mad scramble among omni buses for space on the premises of Central Bus Stand would come to an end. Also. residents planning to pick up or drop of passengers for long-distance buses will not have to worry about parking their motorbikes or cars as the omni bus stand would have adequate space.
source: epaper.newindianexpress.com/c/33549