Commercial Taxes Minister K.C. Veeramani on Friday inaugurated the new Pernambut bus stand premises with temporary facilities. Officials said while buses will begin to ply immediately, a modern bus terminus with required facilities would be constructed at the premises in the coming months.
The Pernambut bus terminus is a busy one from where buses leave to Chennai, Tiruvannamalai, Salem, Kancheepuram and other districts through Vellore. Once inter-state services start, services will be available even to Bengaluru. However as on date, only four buses can be accommodated in the bus stand.
“The land on which the present bus stand is located belongs to the police department. They want it back and we also thought it would be better to have the bus stand in municipality land,” said C. Vijayakumar, Regional Director, Municipal Administration.
The new bus stand will come up on one acre land and will have 10 bays. “We inaugurated the premises on Friday. We have sent a Detailed Project Report (DPR) to the government. Once it is sanctioned, we will begin the development work,” he added. An official from the Pernambut Municipal Corporation said that the bus stand will be constructed at a cost of around ₹4.15 crore under Public Private Partnership mode.
“The bus stand will have a passenger waiting area, charging stations, drinking water facility, toilets, two wheeler parking, shops and other facilities. The residents in Pernambut and surrounding villages will benefit from this new bus stand,” added the official.
Residents protest
Meanwhile some residents of the locality protested against shifting of the bus stand. “The present bus stand is located in the heart of town, but the new one is coming up three kilometers away from the town. People will find it hard to travel to the villages once they alight from the buses,” said G. Suresh Kumar, a member of the 'Pernambut bus stand redemption team'.
