The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Feisty but quieter Bus Day after police put some curbs

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Mar 07, 2007
ePaper

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Feisty but quieter Bus Day after police put some curbs

Staff Reporter

Students told not to mount the roof; law and order largely maintained

RELATIVE CALM: A Bus Day procession on Monday. — Photo: M. Karunakaran

CHENNAI : Another round of Bus Day celebrations by city men's college students was witnessed on Monday, but in a relatively subdued manner. This time, the students of Presidency College took out a procession from Mahakavi Bharati Nagar to Anna Square.

The familiar scene repeated itself — traffic pile-up on major thoroughfares, students enjoying themselves, policemen walking quietly alongside.

`MTC complaint must'

A senior police officer maintained that unless there was a complaint from the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) about damage to buses, or from the public of any hardship, "we cannot take action."

However, following public criticism, "we have provided adequate police personnel to regulate the traffic and ensure that there was no law and order problem," he added. "We have strictly directed the students not to climb on to the roof of the bus," a MTC officer said. But he refused to comment on the number of trips lost in the `celebration' and also the fuel wastage. The drivers pleaded helplessness as the boys took out a procession after decorating the bus with garlands.

The students should take a cue from the public criticism and celebrate in such a manner that the celebration did not affect traffic or cause loss to the exchequer, the officers said.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Tamil Nadu