CHENNAI: A Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) bus stop erected outside a private hospital on the Pallavaram-Thoraipakkam road has turned into an extended parking lot for some motorists visiting the hospital. The hospital had installed a new bus shelter to provide patients and visitors with a comfortable place to wait for their bus.

However, according to a report in The Hindu, currently the space has been taken over and blocked by steel railings where people visiting the hospital park their vehicles.

With thousands of patients visiting the hospital daily, the fact that bikes and cars have taken over the service road near the bus shelter has left the commuters with no choice but to wait under the scorching sun. Locals alleged that the hospital has taken over the area and restricted public access to the shelter and the service lane nearby.

Responding to the allegations, a senior state highways department official said that the bus stop was temporarily shifted to the Velachery Main Road owing to some stormwater drain work. Until the construction is completed, barricades will remain in place for safety, after which the service road will be reopened for the public, he added.