MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Thursday directed the State Transport Department to provide sufficient government buses on a contract basis for the public to attend the Emmanuel Sekaran Guru Puja on September 11.
The Division Bench comprising Justices CV Karthikeyan and R Sakthivel issued this direction in a petition filed by advocate Selvakumar of Managiri, Madurai, seeking a uniform procedure for contracting out government buses for the annual event.
The petitioner had contended that while government buses were provided on contract for educational institutions, factories, weddings, and religious and social events, applications for buses for the Emmanuel Sekaran Guru Puja were allegedly kept pending or rejected altogether.
When the petition came up for hearing before the court, the government counsel informed the judge that 100 buses were available from the Kumbakonam division, 40 from the Madurai division and 40 from the Tirunelveli division. If the petitioner submits a proper application, the government will provide the buses, the counsel said.
Recording the submissions, the judges directed the authorities to provide sufficient buses if the petitioner sought them on a contract basis. The court also directed that two police officers be assigned to each bus.
The court further directed that people should not travel on the roof of buses or hang from the steps and ordered them to strictly follow safety regulations. The authorities were directed to file a report on compliance with the court's directions, and the case was adjourned.