The MTC drivers who ferry our frontline workers for the fight in Chennai

CHENNAI: Amid all the chaos, a group of 500 MTC drivers have been silently ferrying corporation workers and government officials to work since March. More drivers joined the team on Monday as state government offices resumed operations.
Twenty-five special buses were operated from Tambaram, Thiruvanmiyur, Vadapalani and Marina in addition to the 200 being operated for the staff.
The trips are scheduled from 6am everyday and to make it on time, MTC drivers, most of whom reside in the city’s suburbs, start their day as early as 2am or 3am.
S Sarathy, a 52-year-old driver who works at Adambakkam bus depot, resides 25km away at Vandalur. He wakes up at 3am every day so he can get ready and reach Adambakkam in his twowheeler at least an hour before the first departure. “Initially, my wife was worried for my safety. But she felt better after seeing that I was provided with safety kits,” said Sarathy.
To ensure the drivers don’t feel burned out, their work is divided into two shifts so they don’t have to work beyond 12 hours at a stretch. They get an incentive of Rs 500 a day.
“It is not about the money but responsibility. We are proud to offer a helping hand in this crisis,” said 43-year-old M D Manikandan, who stays alone at Purasawalkam. His family is currently residing at Coimbatore.
Manikandan, who operates bus along route number P12 (Mint-Tambaram), said co-operation from workers and government officials has been great so far and that is why not a single MTC driver has been affected by Covid-19 till date.
MTC officials attribute it to safety drills conducted at depots every morning before drivers make the trips and uniterrupted supply of gloves, masks and hand sanitizers.
“Also, all the buses on special duty are disinfected after every trip. Six to ten mechanics were deployed on shift basis in each of the 33 depots to not only disinfect but also carry out regular maintenance work in the remaining 3,100 MTC buses,” said K Ganesan, managing director of MTC, in an earlier press release.