Operate frequent town buses
Many long distance overnight express trains in the main line section arrive at Thanjavur Railway Junction in the early hours of the day. A large number of tourists and devotees proceeding to the places of worship in the districts of Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam and Karaikal arrive by these trains. They later proceed to the respective temple towns by bus. But, there are no adequate bus services from Thanjavur Railway Junction to the New Bus Stand, which is quite far away.
Due to this, the passengers arriving by the early morning trains have to wait for long at the Thanjavur Junction for town buses. I request the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) to operate frequent town buses from the Junction to New Bus Stand for the benefit of the passengers arriving by the early morning trains.
Hafsa Fathima Bijli,
Thanjavur.
II
Even though several town buses are running between Thanjavur old bus stand and Ammapet but they are all diverted beyond Ammapet (nearly 10 km) for interior villages. Due to this, the frequency of the buses is reduced and sometimes passengers have to wait for buses more than 30 minutes. They are not able to reach the destination in time. The Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation should introduce one or two bus services between Thanjavur and Needamangalam. It will definitely benefit people of all walks of life.
R. Sivakumar,
Poondi.
III
A large number of people of the central districts of Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam districts are employed in the industrial towns of Coimbatore and Tirupur. There are no adequate direct bus services from the central districts to Coimbatore and Tirupur. The people have to proceed to Tiruchi for catching buses for these towns. This causes much hardship to senior citizens, women and chidren. I request the TNSTC to operate additional bus services from Thanjavur, Kumbakonam, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam and Mayiladuthurai to Coimbatore and Tirupur.
Syed Farhan Ahmad,
Thanjavur.
Direct train service needed
Recently I travelled by Mysore-Mayiladuthurai overnight express train. I could notice that more than 75 per cent of the passengers who travelled on my compartment got down at Thanjavur Railway Junction for proceeding to Velankanni, Nagore and Tirunallar by the Thanjavur - Karaikal passenger. The devotees, particularly senior citizens, women, children and the sick, find it difficult to change the train at Thanjavur Junction. I request the railways to introduce a direct train service from Mysore to Karaikal. Till then, the railways can attach a few sleeper class compartments in the Mysore - Mayiladuthurai express, which can be detached at Thanjavur junction and attached to the Thanjavur - Karaikal passenger. This arrangement will enable the devotees and tourists to have a direct train connection up to Karaikal, without changing the train in Thanjavur.
Mohammad Hannan Shariff,
Thanjavur.
Faulty traffic signals
All traffic signals at Kumbakonam have not been working for several months. Operation of the signals is absolutely essential to prevent accidents. Officials should take immediate action to ensure the operation of the signals.
K. Santhanam,
Kumbakonam.
Excess tariff
Cable TV operators at Chettimandapam area are collecting Rs.120 a month, much higher than the government stipulated tariff. This is unjustified. The authorities should take steps to ensure that the operators collected only the government fixed tariff.
S. Lakshmi,
Kumbakonam.
Improve service
Amman Unavagams charge less and are hygienic. Sponsors could be roped in to improve the service. People’s involvement and participation would make the scheme more people-friendly.
V. Srinivasan,
Thirupanandal.
Surprise decision
It is really surprising that the government has come up with an idea of allowing commercial establishments function round-the-clock. It would disastrous consequences and raise safety issues.
Dalmiapuram Ganesan,
Srirangam.
Improve library
Adirampattinam Branch Library is located near the eastern border of the town. This forces the people living in other areas to travel over 2 km to visit the library. The library is not fully equipped. Reference books are minimal and do not satisfy the needs of the students and graduates.
Only two sections — Dailies Section and Magazines Section — are functioning. The library is subscribing to only a very few magazines for competitive examinations. There should be separate sections for women, children, and youth. Computer books can also be added. A Civil Services section could be opened for the benefit of youth.
A. Haja Abdul Khader,
Adirampattinam.
Reconstruct bridge
Dilapidated and damaged bridges across the rivers such as Arasalaru, Mudikontan, Kodamuruti, Vettaru and Vennaru on the Kumbakonam-Mannargudi highway were replaced with newly constructed ones. But the old bridge across the river Thirumalairajan at Thippirajapuram has not been rebuilt. The people of Thippirajapuram are at their wits’ end to know why the proposal regarding the reconstruction of this bridge has been put in the cold storage. Though temporary repairs have been undertaken, the condition of the bridge will become worse if steps are not taken to renovate it immediately. Since there is no railway link between Kumbakonam and Pattukkottai, people solely depend on bus travel and as such the State government should make serious efforts to reconstruct the Thirumalairajan river bridge at Thippirajapuram without loss of time.
R. Pichumani,
Thippirajapuram.
Effect changes
The railways has to do some modifications in the passenger reservation system so as to allot lower berths to pregnant women.
M. Condeepan,
Pattukottai.
