The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Bus stops or death traps?

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Mar 10, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Bus stops or death traps?

LAW &ORDER Relocating them will be convenient for the road users, writes D. Radhakrishnan

RISKY: Inconveniently located bus stops at Nondimedu in Udhagamandalam. - Photo: D. Radhakrishnan

ARE BUS stops in this hill station located at safe and convenient places? Complaints relating to such bus stops, particularly on the busy Coonoor-Udhagamandalam highway, have become common. Since the season is round the corner the increasing inflow of vehicles is likely to aggravate the problem.

Commuters on the Coonoor-Udhagamandalam stretch and the Lovedale-Udhagamandalam road said the bus stops near Nondimedu and Thalaiattumund had over the years become risky for both motorists and pedestrians. The introduction of mini bus services and the resultant competition between drivers of the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation buses and the mini buses had made the bus stops risky places, they said.

Since the bus stops for ascending and descending buses at Nondimedu are located on a steep incline, they pose a serious threat to motorists especially those from the plains who are not familiar with the driving techniques that need to be adopted on the hills.

Regrettably, attempts made a few years ago to shift the bus stops at Nondimedu to safer places were opposed on the grounds that the people would have to cover a distance of about 100 metres by foot to board the buses. Even a bus shelter erected at a safe and convenient place was vandalised.

Some residents said in the absence of self-discipline among the road users, the authorities should enforce discipline.

Divisional Manager, TNSTC, E. Devarajan said even for the bus drivers the present location of some of the stops was extremely inconvenient. He said that efforts would be made to relocate them.

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