Deccan
Chronicle: Chennai: Saturday, 02 May 2015.
For the
common man who uses the Metropolitan Transport Corporation buses in Chennai,
overcrowding is as high as 150 per cent and the demand far outstrips supply,
leading to inhuman conditions of travel, confirms the second master plan
drafted by the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority in 2008.
With the reality
being so harsh irrespective of any regime, the state run MTC operates five
buses for Tamil Nadu MLAs from their Chepauk guesthouse to the state
secretariat. An RTI petition filed by Deccan Chronicle revealed that 10 to 12
members travel in the MLA specials when
Assembly is in session and this means that hardly two people travel per
bus with the crew. Observations reveal that in most cases, a bus travels back
to its depot without any members.
Activists and
bus commuters demand cancellation of buses for elected representatives and
diverting these to the common man on routes where the demand is high. “Today,
most MLAs have their own cars. Those who don’t can take an auto or taxi from
the guest house to reach the Assembly,” said Madras high court advocate and
Exnora International joint secretary R Govindaraj.
Some
legislators who regularly use MLA specials include CPI(M) legislator
Balabharathi from Dindigul, Madurai south CPIM MLA R Annaodorai, AIADMK MLA
M.V. Karuppiah representing Sholavandan and K Tamilarasan from Madurai
district.
“Most MLAs
coming from Tiruchy and the southern districts depend on the MLA special
buses,” said CPI (M) Annadorai, a regular commuter of MLA specials. MTC
sources, when contacted, said that MLA specials are not operated on a daily
basis and a few buses are diverted, only during Assembly sessions. It has been
a privilege provided to elected representatives for several decades.
The number of
services could be reduced from 5 to 3 by fixing scheduled timings, informed sources
said. Efforts to contact MTC managing director Albert Dhinakaran and senior
transport officials proved futile.
.JPG)
.JPG)
