Lack of easy connectivity —inadequate number of government buses — in Periyapalayam in Tiruvallur district, about 40 kilometres from Chennai, continues to bother residents of this temple town.
In the absence of direct service to other tourist and pilgrim centres, passengers have to change buses at different locations.
Located on Chennai-Periyapalayam High Road, a State Highway (SH 50 A), the town is divided by the Arani river with the Sri Bhavani Amman temple on one side and residential areas on the other.
Key route
“The town is located on a key route where tourists and pilgrims from Chennai can reach other important temples in Tiruvallur, Tirutani and Tirupathi easily.
But there are no direct buses from here to other such spots from Periyapalayam,” said 45-year-old K. Sampath, a small-scale businessman in Anna Nagar.
At present, the existing bus terminus on Chennai-Periyapalayam High Road operates buses mainly to Avadi, Ambattur Industrial Estate and Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus at Koyambedu, Vallalar Nagar and Madras High Court with 41 services a day. However, tourists and pilgrims have to either go to Uthukottai, 22 kilometres from Periyapalayam, to board buses to other tourist and pilgrim spots in Tiruvallur district.
Residents recalled that MTC bus services from Periyapalayam to Tiruvallur (Route No: 505A) were cancelled a few months ago though the route enjoyed good patronage from local commuters and travellers from Chennai and other parts of Tiruvallur district.
In fact, at the cramped bus terminus, which was renovated in 2002 at a cost of Rs. 10 lakh by the State government, only four buses can halt at a time while the rest have to be parked on the main road, resulting in much chaos.
“The problems worsen during festival and holiday seasons as we operate 30 additional buses every day for the convenience of pilgrims,” an MTC official told The Hindu.
Being a key route that connects Chennai with neighbouring Andhra Pradesh via Periyapalayam and Uthukottai, traffic snarls also affected movement of vehicles from industrial hubs like Ambattur and Sriperumbudur.
“The existing bus terminus should be shifted to a more spacious site and connectivity between Chennai and the temple town should be improved,” said S. Vedachalam of Periyapalayam.
