The Tamil Nadu government has announced special buses for people travelling to and from Chennai for Pongal this year. The festival will be celebrated from January 15 to January 18 in Tamil Nadu. The three-day festival is a celebration of harvest and nature’s bounty and is an important festival for the state.
According to reports, a total of 30,120 special buses will be operated across the state for Pongal between January 12 and 14. About 16,075 buses will ply from Chennai to other parts of the state during this period while 9,995 special buses will be made available in other districts.
In addition to online booking services, 17 booking centres have been opened in Chennai to facilitate hassle-free bookings. Pre-bookings begin from January 9.
Six bus stations will be operational in Chennai alone. Buses leaving to Andhra Pradesh will begin from Madhavaram New Bus Terminus. Those heading to Thiruvanamalai will have to board from Tambaram Railway Station Bus Terminus while buses heading to Kumbakonam and Thanjavur via Vikravandi, Panruti will leave from Tambaram Anna Bus Terminus.
Buses to other southern districts like Madurai, Tirunelveli, Kanyakumari and Trichy will begin from Koyambedu Bus Terminus (CMBT). Those wishing to travel on the ECR to places like Puducherry, Cuddalore, Chidambaram will have to make use of the KK Nagar Bus Terminus while buses to northern districts like Vellore, Arani, Arcot, Hosur, etc will leave from the Poonamallee Bus Terminus.
In order to avoid traffic on the highways, toll plazas will have an exclusive lane for buses, said Minister for Transport MR Vijayabhaskar.
Between January 16 to 19, for the crowds returning from their hometowns, close to 17,000 special buses will be made available. 4,500 special buses will be made available for those heading to Chennai alone while 9,370 buses will run in other parts of the state.
Source: The News Minute