The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : A day off for rush hour

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Apr 01, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

A day off for rush hour

K.T. Sangameswaran and P. Oppili

Roads were deserted, shops shut and milling crowds missing

HELPING THE PASSENGERS : Police vans being used to transport passengers from Chennai Central railway station to various destinations during the bandh on Saturday. — PHOTO: R. Ragu

K.T. Sangameswaran

and P. Oppili

CHENNAI: Fewer vehicles on roads, particularly at the arteries, provided a refreshing contrast on Saturday as the State observed a bandh, called by political parties on the reservation issue.

The usually choked Padi level-crossing intersection was relatively free; so was the Inner Ring Road joining the Kolkata national highway on the northern side and the GST Road on the south. On normal days, the IRR takes a heavy volume of traffic. To avoid the chaos at the Padi junction, several motorists take a short cut through the Red Hills Road, throttling the level-crossing at Villivakkam and the interior roads. It was a pleasure driving along the IRR and the highway. Several youngsters on two-wheelers were seen speeding. The occasion came in handy for those learning driving.

The otherwise busy GST Road and congested Kathipara junction wore a deserted look with the MTC vehicles and autorickshaws being off the road. Those who headed for the airport from the city were able to reach Meenambakkam/Trisoolam area within a short time.

Butt Road at Guindy, where one could see a large number of vehicles queuing up on normal days, was devoid of any traffic at noon.

Except the medical shops, most of the other shops in southern Chennai remained closed. Many passengers who arrived by flights at the domestic terminal preferred to stay in the lounge area and those who managed to get private-owned cars travelled to their destinations without any difficulty.

At Puzhal and Madhavaram, some teashops were open. A few fruit vendors did business. A couple of autorickshaws were seen plying at Red Hills too. However, merchants and traders had downed their shutters.

For the residents of suburbs, small vendors sold vegetables on roadsides. Some meat shops were kept open.

In view of the bandh, delivery of paddy from Andhra Pradesh for merchants at Red Hills by lorries was completed on Friday, said M. Kothandan, a paddy commission agent.

Business was as usual at the goats shandy at Retteri. Enquiries revealed that the goats were brought from Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka yesterday.

Mute spectators

On the Erukkenchery High Road at Vyasarpadi, though the day passed off peacefully and shops and establishments remained closed, there was display of over-enthusiasm. On the T.H.Road at New Washermanpet, a group stopped an autorickshaw and some attempted to deflate the tyres. A car carrying presspersons was also blocked. After much explaining by its occupants the group relented. This happened even as two policemen who were sitting nearby, remained spectators. As a matter of abundant precaution, a policeman advised drivers of passing autorickshaws on Kamarajar Salai to avoid plying.

Long queues were a regular feature at ATMs in the city and suburbs. With the financial year coming to an end and banks remaining closed for the weekend, people rushed to the ATMs to withdraw money

Bus services ambled to normalcy past the bandh deadline of 6 p.m. While patronage for city buses was average, large crowds were present at bus stops of State Express Transport Corporation (SETC).

SETC managing director M. Veerappan, who oversaw the resumption of services at Tambaram, said they were ensuring that all services were functioning smoothly. "We are trying to accommodate as many people in buses as possible."

The Corporation runs close to 950 services in the State. Mr. Veerappan said they had made arrangements last night to stop all the buses at their local depots itself rather than stopping them en route. "We gave an option for the passengers who had booked the tickets to either get refunds or use them later."

Suburban train services were hit in Chennai. All day-time trains and suburban services were cancelled between 6 am and 6 pm. Police vans doubled up as transport vehicles to take passengers to various destinations. Normal services were restored after 6 pm. Railway reservation centres, which used to have long-winding queues on normal days, had a few takers.

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