Chennai-Tiruchi NH Choked as Lakhs Return After Pongal

About 12 lakh people took government and private buses while around 5 lakh travelled by train. Besides, lakhs of families left in their private cars while individuals travelled in cargo vehicles. While the people left the city on many days, their return was almost on the same day leading to traffic congestion and most of them were unable to reach their workplace or educational institutions on time on Monday.

Though Sunday was a holiday, only a few thousand people started on Saturday evening and reached Sunday morning. Those who started on Sunday morning and afternoon faced heavy traffic snarls from Vikravandi tollgate. In Chengalpet district, the vehicles took more than an hour to cross Mamandur and Pukkathurai, where flyovers are being constructed.

At Singaperumalkoil, the traffic queued up for three kilometres, leading to chaos at Urapakkam, Kilambakkam, Vandalur, Perungalathur, Irumbuliyur and Tambaram from Sunday evening to Monday morning. Lakhs of people got down at the Kilambakkam bus terminus and changed to the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) buses in the morning. The government and private buses stopped in the middle of the road at Kilambakkam, Perungalathur and Tambaram blocking the way for other vehicles. The Kilambakkam terminus was heavily crowded till Monday afternoon as lakhs of people got down and changed to the city buses.

There was heavy crowd at the Tambaram bus stop as the passengers who came by trains and buses gathered on the roadside to board the MTC buses, autos and share autos. Since the buses from the southern and western districts reached Kilambakkam only in the morning, most of the people were unable to go to their workplaces and educational institutions on time.

The people living in the suburban areas too were severely affected and could not reach their workplaces on time. The police have made several arrangements to reduce the congestion on the Chennai-Tiruchi highway during Pongal. It was useful when people left the city before Pongal but the plans went awry as about 15 to 20 lakh people returned on the same day.

People who returned by trains also got down at Potheri and Urapakkam and went to the Kilambakkam bus terminus. The Kilambakkam railway station is expected to be functional by next year’s Pongal and train passengers could get down at Kilambakkam itself to shift to the MTC buses.