Poor infrastructure and amenities render Tambaram bus terminus in Chennai unsafe at night

Chennai: Tambaram bus stand, one of the busiest transit hubs in Chennai, turns unsafe and chaotic after 6pm. Commuters raised concerns over poor lighting, encroachments and lack of basic facilities. Large portions of the terminus remain dark during evening hours, leaving passengers, especially women, vulnerable. Commuters said anti-social elements frequently loiter around the bus stand, often approaching passengers under various pretexts."Last week, I reached Tambaram around 10pm and went to take a bus to Vandalur. A stranger followed me from the overhead bridge to the bus stop. For nearly 20 minutes, there was no bus. He later came close and asked for my phone to make a call. I refused and walked to the nearby police booth, but even there, several drunk men were roaming around," said R Kavitha, who works at a textile shop in T Nagar.She said that her friends too faced similar situations, adding that no effective action was taken despite police presence.Encroachments by shops, temporary stalls and unauthorised vendors have worsened the situation, reducing space for buses and passengers. This has led to severe congestion inside the terminus and along Grand Southern Trunk Road.K Manikandan, a regular commuter from West Tambaram, said, "There is only one public paid toilet near the market, and it is not cleaned regularly. The buses are often parked one after the other, blocking traffic. With the new terminus, the corporation should create enough space and regulate that the buses should be parked properly."More than 10,000 commuters use the Tambaram bus stand daily, with more than 500 buses plying to destinations including Padappai, Maraimalai Nagar, Walajabad, Naduveerapattu, Somangalam, Nallur, and Sriperumbudur, as well as to key city areas such as Anna Nagar.Officials said the Tambaram corporation has allocated 7 crore to revamp the bus terminus. The proposed works include installation of improved lighting, CCTV cameras and a new roof. Authorities also plan to regulate vendors by allowing only registered stalls and taking action against encroachments.Tambaram corporation commissioner S Balachander said tenders have been floated for the project and work is expected to begin soon. "We are working on plans to remove encroachments and decongest traffic on GST Road. The project will be taken up shortly and completed before the monsoon," he said.
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