With Deepavali around the corner, many have chosen to have an extended weekend.
A number of them will be heading out of the city. Anticipating this, the government has announced 4,271 special buses from the city to various parts of the State this Deepavali season.
The buses started operations on Friday, with 1,106 special buses being run on the day.
There will be a further 1,146 special buses on Saturday, 825 on Sunday and 1,194 buses on Monday, an State Express Transport Corporation (SETC) official said. Booking counters have been opened at various locations, including CMBT in Koyambedu.
“So far, all our buses are running full, and there is a lot of demand through our counters and the Internet,” he said.
Checks on operators
To prevent omnibus operators from taking advantage of the Deepavali rush and overcharging passengers, transport officials carried out checks on Friday.
Officials said that so far no cases had been booked.
According to A. Afzal, president of the Tamil Nadu Omni Bus Owners Association, the association too has been making efforts to ensure that the passengers are not being overcharged.
“We have strictly instructed all our members to make sure that they do not overcharge customers. People who have been overcharged can contact the association at Ph: 9840350066,” he said.
He added that on Friday, the crowds were not as high as expected.
“We are running around 50 special buses, and while our regular buses are running full, there is not much demand for the special buses,” he said. They are expecting a higher crowd over the weekend.
For any complaints regarding overcharging by omnibuses, passengers can also contact the government’s helpline at Ph: 044-24794709.
Special trains
Southern Railways will be running two unreserved special trains between Chennai Egmore and Tirunelveli to help ease the Deepavali rush.
The first train: Chennai Egmore to Tirunelveli (Train No. 06120) will leave Chennai at 7 a.m. on November 7 and 9, and reach Tirunelveli at 11.15 p.m. on the same day.
On return, it (Train no. 06121) will leave Tirunelvely at 9.20 a.m. on November 8 and 11, and reach Chennai at 11.50 p.m. on the same day, a release said.
The train will have nine coaches (DEMU rake) and stop at Tambaram, Chengalpattu, Melmaruvathur, Tindivanam, Villupuram, Tirupadiripuliyur, Cuddalore Port, Chidambaram, Sirkazhi, Mayiladuthurai, Kumbakonam, Thanjavur, Tiruchchirappalli, Dindigul, Kodaikkanal Road, Madurai, Virudhunagar, Sattur, Kovilpatti and Vanchi Maniyachchi.
