Homebound: Chaturthi weekend exodus chokes GST Road

CHENNAI: Heavy traffic congestion was reported along the GST Road on Saturday (September 12) as thousands of people from the city headed to their hometowns for the long weekend leading up to Ganesh Chaturthi.

As traffic on Pallavaram, Chromepet, Tambaram, Perungalathur, Kilambakkam and Singaperumal Koil crawled, motorists were stranded in serpentine queues.

Vehicle movement along the GST Road increased significantly since Friday night, when the exodus from Chennai started.

Congestion was particularly severe near Kilambakkam, where buses entering the terminus took longer to turn around.

Besides, a steady stream of passengers crossing the GST Road to enter the terminus further choked the traffic flow.

The traffic police and law-and-order personnel were deployed in Tambaram to regulate traffic and manage the rush.

The police were also stationed at key junctions to ease congestion. However, motorists cited the scant presence of police personnel on the ground as a contributing factor to the traffic chaos.

Meanwhile, Tambaram railway station witnessed a massive rush of workers from northern states and passengers from southern districts travelling to their hometowns for the festival.

A large number of passengers gathered at the station to board unreserved express trains, including the Antyodaya Express, bound for Nagercoil and Manamadurai.

Women, senior citizens and persons with disabilities struggled to board overcrowded trains. Some passengers were seen hanging from footboards.

Passengers complained that unlike during Deepavali and Pongal, adequate crowd management and security arrangements had not been made this time.

Ganesh Chaturthi will be celebrated on Monday (September 14).