Madurantakam residents demand buses in good condition
An official from the transport department said we cannot operate brand new buses on the village route since the roads there are in bad shape.
Visual from the spot
CHENNAI: Tired and inconvenienced by dated and worn-out buses, residents in and around Madurantakam have demanded that the government provide them with new models, particularly on the routes which are frequented by school and college students.
Every year, before the start of the academic year, the transport department and revenue officials would inspect all the private school buses and allow them to operate only if the buses were in good condition. The residents of Madurantakam and its surrounding villages pointed out that the transport department should also check the condition of buses on which government school students use to travel from Madurantakam.
There are around 50 buses in the Madurantakam bus depot, and they are being operated in more than 30 villages in the surrounding area. However, the residents said most of the buses are in bad condition. The students who need to travel to Cheiyur, Sunamedu, Acharapakkam, Orathi, Pavunjur and Anaicut are forced to travel on the wonky buses every day.
Karthikeyan, a resident of Cheiyur, said that due to a lack of maintenance, the buses would often break down in the middle of the travel and they would be running late for the schools, colleges and workplaces. The residents also mentioned that on many days the buses were not operated after evening.
A few days ago, a bus heading towards Madurantakam from Orathi broke down. The commuters tried to push the bus and give it a kick start, but all their efforts went in vain. There were no spare buses available, forcing the commuters to walk and travel by asking for a lift.
A similar situation arose a couple of days ago on the bus which was heading to Sunambedu from Maduranthagam. After pushing the vehicle for a long time, the driver managed to start the bus.
Every year, the transport department purchases new buses with the latest technology, but those buses are never given to villages. The officers must allocate some new buses to the village route, the residents demand.
An official from the transport department said we cannot operate brand new buses on the village route since the roads there are in bad shape. "However, all the buses are serviced properly, and only buses which are in good condition are being operated in the villages. We also take extra care of the school students and operate more buses during the peak hours," the official said.
