A ramshackle bus stop in Pallikaranai

CHENNAI: It is 1pm and Prince, a resident of Pallikaranai, has been awaiting a Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) bus for 20 minutes by the Velachery Main Road to reach his college in east Tambaram .

But why was Prince standing by the roadside? “This is the bus stop,” he said adding, “It is called the Oil Mill Shop bus stop. Local residents know it.” Others would not be able to distinguish the stop from the road considering there is nothing to designate it.

Three years have elapsed since Greater Chennai Corporation took control of the city’s bus stops from MTC. But little has changed in the way these structures look. Except a few areas where stainless steel shelters welcome commuters, bus stops in the rest of the city require urgent attention.

Prince’s plight is not unique. Sakthiselvan, a student at Quaidemilleth College in Medavakkam, has to board a bus amid onrushing traffic at the Medavakkam Koot Road junction.

Existing bus stops do not paint a pretty picture either. At the government high school junction in Pallikaranai, what passes off for a bus stop is two asbestos cement slabs held together by a broken iron rod. Two cement slabs offer seating comfort for passengers. “We have complained umpteen number of times to highways department and local body officials. But this bus stop has remained like this,” said Venkatesan, a local resident.

At bus termini in Saidapet and Tambaram, the situation is no different. At Saidapet, the high roof damaged during Cyclone Vardah in 2016 is yet to be mended. At Tambaram, squatters take more space than commuters.

“The Tambaram municipality should take action to remove encroachers. But officials do not care,” said an MTC staffer at Tambaram. Tambaram municipality officials said they were unaware of the encroachments. “I will inspect the terminus tomorrow and take action,” said Ravichandran, the municipality’s chief engineer.

Corporation officials told TOI that the civic body maintained more than 1,800 bus stops in the city. Officials said they renovated more than 1,000 bus stops in the past three years but not without facing issues.

“We are unable to remove several old bus stops due to political interference. These stops were constructed by political party leaders, caste groups and private parties with considerable influence. In a few instances, these people have tussled with us. We had to lodge police complaints following unnecessary interference,” a senior official said.

