CHENNAI: The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) is likely to throw open a new bus terminus at Kilambakkam for public use by March 2022.
The terminus, which is being constructed for Rs 397 crore, has more than a dozen toilet blocks, a waiting area with seats, escalators and can accommodate 245 government and private omni buses at a time. Around 3,000 private vehicles can be parked at in the complex.
Besides mofussil buses, CMDA has created separate bays and a depot for city buses. The MTC has already started operating buses from Kilambakkam and has partially shifted the base from Perungalathur to the new location.
The State Express Transport Corporation (SETC), which operates long-distance government buses, will no longer use CMBT, Koyambedu, from next year. Buses to southern districts like Madurai, Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari will leave from Kilambakkam.
However, several commuters have said the project has its own pitfalls. People living within the city have to spend more to reach the terminal. The nearest suburban station from Kilambakkam is at least 2 km away. If passengers choose a cab or auto, they will have to pay more.
A senior SETC official said getting down at Kilambakkam, which is 30 km from Koyambedu, and boarding another MTC bus in the wee hours is going to be tedious for many passengers.
The other problem is the delay in expanding Tambaram-Chengalpet highway (NH-45) along which the terminus is located. The NHAI is converting the existing four-lane into six-lane roads.
G Ganesh, a resident-activist from Singaperumalkoil, said, “If they (NHAI) don’t complete it before next March, it is going to chaos here. Already private buses and vans of industries in Oragadam are using NH-45 instead of Bengaluru highway in order to avoid the toll gate at Sriperumbudur. This coupled with more government buses on incomplete roads will make traffic congestion worst”.
