CHENNAI: The state transport department has announced to operate special buses to manage rush due to the weekend and auspicious day (Muhurtha Naal) from Friday.

According to the department release, it is expected that a large number of passengers would travel on Saturday and Sunday, which is also the auspicious day, from and to Chennai.

"Due to this, arrangements have been made to operate additional buses. As many as 400 special buses will be operating from Chennai from Friday, and 400 special buses will be operated from cities like Coimbatore, Madurai, Tirunelveli, Trichy, Salem and Bengaluru. In total arrangements have been made to operate 800 special buses, " the release said.

The release added that to facilitate passengers returning to Chennai and Bengaluru, special buses will be operated as per requirement. The department has requested the passengers to book online tickets and said that 23,626 passengers have booked tickets. Also, officers will be deployed at bus stands to streamline the special bus operations.