Private parking at bus depot an inconvenience to public, transport union demands action

Stating that outsiders have been conveniently parking their vehicles for long hours for the past six to eight months, M B Ramamoorthy of the Union, said, “They are not supposed park their vehicles there, but continue to do so. Bus drivers have been complaining about this issue for a very long time, but the managers senior managers of the depot continue to refrain from taking any action.”

Stressing on the fact that this tends to create a circle of problems, he added, “As the private parties park their vehicles there, it makes it difficult for bus drivers, who eventually park the buses outside the depot. This, in turn, creates problems for the public, who tend to wait for long hours for a bus, completely unaware of the fact that the buses are parked outside.”

As the buses are being parked outside the depot, it results in traffic congestion as well. “Each bus number has a separate bay to itself. However, the bays are mostly occupied by cars and share autos. When a bus enters the depot, the are unable to enter the bay allotted to them, and therefore park the buses at different places. When the drivers tell the private vehicle owners to move their vehicles, it results in brawls. There was an instance wherein a group of private vehicle owners got together and hit three drivers, who demanded that they move their vehicles,” said another member of the union, adding that police persons were forced to intervene.

Alleging lack of courage to deal with the encroachers on the part of the managers at the depot, he said, “The officers are completely failing in their duty due to this fear. There was a similar problem around five years ago, before the depot was renovated. People, especially those from the Narikurava tribe, would camp themselves at the depot, making it highly inconvenient for the public. This must stop immediately,” demanded Ramamoorthy.

Attempts to reach MTC officials for their response turned futile.