A non-functional government aided middle school in Vallalar Nagar near Sathuvachari in Vellore on the Chennai - Bengaluru Highway (NH: 48) is being demolished for a week to make way for the construction of a swanky bus bay with shelters for commuters to board buses on the highway.
The new bus bay is one of the 15 such bus bays that will be coming up on the highway between Krishnagiri and Walajapet (Ranipet district), a distance of 148 km, in the coming weeks to provide permanent shelters for commuters, especially women and children, to board buses safely on the service lanes of both sides of the highway.
In fact, it has been a decade-long wait that will end soon as the construction of bus bays and shelters were sanctioned way back in 2012 but delayed due to land acquisition. “We have to wait under the sun on the carriageway to board buses. During monsoon, we get wet before we board the buses. The new shelters should end our ordeal,” said K. Ramesh, a commuter. NHAI officials said that basic amenities like bus bays and shelters are part of the six lane widening work of the highway that was signed by L&T a decade ago in 2012 at a cost of Rs 1,250 crore. Since then, the highway between Walajapet in Ranipet and Krishnagiri has been maintained by the company on behalf of NHAI on a 30-year agreement for maintenance. Despite the widening work, other facilities including providing shelters, bus bays, widened storm water drains, and rainwater harvesting pits were delayed mainly due to land acquisition. “Land acquisition has been completed. Work on providing civic amenities on the highway is being done,” said a NHAI official. As per plan, officials said that Walajah, Arcot, Puttuthakku near Ratnagiri, Perumugai and Sathuvachari (both Vellore), Ambur, Natrampalli and Bargur are among 15 spots on the highway that will get new bus bays and shelters in the coming weeks. Each bus bay will have 0.25 hectares of land, mostly farmlands, along the highway. On an average, at least 20 commuters can be accommodated in each bus bay. LED lighting facilities, digital bus timing and route charts and kiosks are other features in the bus bay. Alongside the work for bus bays, the highway is also being given a facelift especially its carriageway with fresh coat of bitumen as the stretch has also been badly damaged due to heavy rain during last monsoon. As per accord, regular maintenance including patchwork should be done once in six months and complete makeover of the stretch should be done once in a decade, said officials.
