CHENNAI: Due to the Pongal festival and continuous holidays across Tamil Nadu, people in Chennai and its suburbs have been travelling to their native places, leading to severe overnight congestion on the Chennai-Tiruchy National Highway.
Following the State government’s announcement of holiday for schools on Wednesday to mark Bhogi festival, the rush out of Chennai began from Tuesday evening itself.
Families travelling by trains, government, private buses, cars and vans in large numbers triggered massive traffic snarls on key arterial roads. From Tuesday evening, through the early hours of Wednesday, traffic on the Chennai-Tiruchy NH moved at a crawl, with bumper-to-bumper traffic despite a ban on heavy vehicles on the stretch until January 19.
Severe traffic jams were reported at Pallavaram, Chromepet, Tambaram, Perungalathur, Vandalur Zoo junction, the Kilambakkam bus terminus, Urapakkam, Guduvanchery and Singaperumalkoil. Motorists pointed out that the congestion had worsened due to a shortage of traffic police, home guards and volunteers to regulate vehicle movement.
The situation echoed at Kilambakkam bus terminus, where thousands of passengers thronged the premises. Despite the Tamil Nadu State Transport Department operating a large number of special buses, passengers travelling to Salem, Erode, Namakkal, Coimbatore, Tirupur, Cuddalore, Kallakurichi, Mayiladuthurai, Pattukkottai, Thanjavur and Kumbakonam lamented insufficient bus services and the wait for hours.
Passengers bound for long-distance destinations such as Madurai, Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi and Kanniyakumari, unable to get bus tickets, opted to travel by cars and vans. Those heading to nearby towns, including Villupuram, Tindivanam, Tiruvannamalai and Gingee, reportedly hired autos and even goods vehicles.
Railway stations too witnessed overwhelming crowds. At Tambaram railway station, thousands of passengers thronged the platforms to board trains to their native places. Trains for Kanniyakumari, Nagercoil, Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, Sengottai and Thiruvananthapuram were packed beyond capacity.
In several unreserved coaches, there was barely any space to stand, forcing passengers to cling dangerously to footboards and doorways. RPF personnel and railway police struggled to manage the crowds.