The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Bus stand turns into garbage dump

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Friday, Jan 25, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Bus stand turns into garbage dump

Kannal Achuthan and T.Madhavan

West Velachery residents want NGO Colony facility to be made major terminus

“At present, it is used to park private buses, vans and as a public toilet”

— Photo: M. Karunakaran

MISUSED FACILITY: The NGO Colony bus stand is being used more as a garbage collection point than as a public transport infrastructure.

Chennai: Residents of West Velachery are unhappy that the NGO Colony bus stand has turned into a garbage dump.

J.G. Krishnamurthy, a resident of Secretariat Colony in Adambakkam, said the bus stand, which falls in Chennai Corporation ward 153, was being used for garbage collection by the Alandur Municipality.

“There is space in the bus stand to park at least 15 buses at a time… as on date, only a few buses ply through this bus stand. People do not have straight services to important locations like railway stations or the Koyambedu bus terminus,” he said.

Built 7 years ago

Residents said the bus stand should be used solely for the purpose it was built for seven years ago.

They suggest that Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) could develop the bus stand into a major terminus as the residential population in West Velachery had grown several times in the last few years.

At least 50 new apartment complexes have come up in the area.

At present, it is used as a parking lot for private buses and vans and as a public toilet, residents complained.

R. Ganesan, a resident of Adambakkam, said if MTC operated more services from NGO Colony or via the bus stand, the problem could be solved as the facility would be optimally used. He also suggested that the MTC erect a gate to prevent unauthorised parking of private vehicles.

Garbage bin

When contacted, R.S. Bharathi, Alandur Municipal Chairman, said that a huge garbage bin had been placed to collect waste and discourage local shopkeepers and residents from dumping garbage all over the bus stand.

In the interest of thousands of residents living in Secretariat Colony, which comes under the Chennai Corporation limits, the municipality was removing all garbage dumped inside the terminus, he said.

Pallikaranai dump

The municipal workers take the garbage from the terminus to Pallikaranai dump.

If any objection is raised by the Chennai Corporation or any other agency, the bin would be removed, a municipality official said.

There were plans to shift the bin to a different location soon, he added.

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