Chennai: With the sun beating down ruthlessly on the city, missing bus shelters from bus stops at various points in the city are only adding to the woes of commuters.
Vandalur zoo, a spot for visitors as well as a hub for students and IT professionals, lacks a bus shelter. Other areas like Guduvancherry, Bharathi College, Pandian (Tondiarpet), ESI Chrompet and Broadway theatre that witness a huge movement of people daily also lack bus shelters.
“In Velachery, near the Saravana Stores, there is no shelter. Even before the construction work on the bridge started there was no bus shelter there and it has been difficult for us stand here while waiting for buses,” said Sinduja R, a college student who travels from this bus stop to Tambaram, daily. “It’s also difficult for the aged people as the bus sometimes stops a little further away as there is no shelter. It gets even worse in the rainy season,” she added.
“I travel between Bharathi College and Red Hills daily and it gets difficult for me to stand in the heat. So, sometimes I end up taking autos, the drivers of which never charge by the meter. The rainy days are even worse when I spend a lot on autos,” said Mary, a commuter.
Corporation officials, when contacted, said that some shelters were taken down due to construction activities happening, for instance on Broadway, where the Chennai Metro Rail Limited is undertaking Metrorail work. “At Vandalur, we will be reconstructing a shelter,” said an engineer from Greater Chennai Corporation.
(With inputs from Vaishawle B)
