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State Government | Tamil Nadu - India | PID: 191254
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The Tamil Nadu transport department will soon renovate 10 government bus stands and depots at an estimated cost of Rs. 50 crore.
transport secretary B Chandramohan urged his subordinates to speed up related work and prepare a detailed action plan to refurbish 16 other depots in Chennai under the smart city project as announced earlier.
Amidst this, Metropolitan Transport Corporation has already started repairing some of them in Chennai based on complaints from passengers.
Repair work was nearing completion at Anna Nagar and Iyyapanthangal bus depots in Chennai.
This includes relaying of damaged roads, removing condemned spare parts dumped in corners, painting, repairing damaged ceilings, employees work and rest area, said an MTC official.
“More importantly concrete stoppers have been strengthened so that bus parking becomes safe,” the official added.
Earlier this year, two mechanics from Vadapalani died after a bus rammed into a wall as the stopper was almost non-existent. Besides this, minor repair work was also taken up at other bus depots including Alandur and a safety audit too is under way.
After the Vadapalani incident, the government ordered an audit of all 320 depots across the state. However, passengers say that their complaints pertaining to leaky roofs and broken waiting chairs weren’t addressed.
For instance, entire Thiruvanmiyur bus depot gets submerged even after a mild shower as drains are clogged with plastic waste and debris, said Somasundaram, a local resident.
Thursday’s review meeting focussed on other schemes including free bus pass to students, new electric buses and pending terminal benefits for retired benefits.
A total of 525 e-buses has been sanctioned for Madurai, Salem, Thanjavur and other tier-II cities under the central government’s second phase of Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles (FAME II) scheme. Another 2,123 e-buses will be procured using financial assistance from Germany and many among them too will be operated in districts outside Chennai.
Besides this, the government is currently preparing disabled-friendly buses for town operations. A trial demonstration was held last week and after getting Automobile Research Association of India's (ARAI's) approval, it will be operated across TN, said a senior official from the department.
| Updated on: 25 - Nov - 2019
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