Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Tuesday, February 13, 2024, told the Legislative Assembly that the Kalaingar Centenary Bus Terminus at Kilambakkam near Chennai was opened recently after resolving many major problems, not just small hitches.
Responding to Leader of Opposition Edappadi K. Palaniswami, the Chief Minister, who intervened during the question hour, said Ministers P.K. Sekarbabu (CMDA) and S.S. Sivasankar (Transport) were ready to take the members of the House to the bus terminal to see for themselves, the facilities that have been set up for passengers. “They are ready to address [any] issues,” Mr Stalin said.
The issue was raised by AIADMK member Sellur K. Raju, who complained that passengers from southern T.N. districts were facing a lot of difficulties after the mofussil bus terminus was moved from Koyambedu (CMBT)` to Kilambakkam.
Transport Minister Mr. Sivasankar reminded Mr Raju that the plan to build a terminus at Kilambakkam was announced by the AIADMK government but only 30 per cent of the work had been completed by the time the former regime left office. “There will be small hitches when a new project is launched. There were also (similar) complaints when the bus terminus was moved from Parrys Corner to Koyambedu. Subsequently, operations became smooth,” the Minister said.
Mr. Sivasankar also explained that 80 per cent of buses were being operated from Kilambakkam while 20 per cent of buses were being operated from Madhavaram for the benefit of passengers from North Chennai.
Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Minister P.K. Sekarbabu, also holds the portfolio of CMDA, said though the project was conceived in 2013, tenders were called for in 2018 and work started only in 2019. “Mr. Palaniswami said the facilities at Kilambakkam are not adequate. I would like to point out that the Koyambedu bus terminus covers just 33 acres, but the Kilambakkam terminus has been created on 86 acres of land and the government has spent an additional ₹100 crore to create facilities,” he said. The government was also planning to link the terminus with the Metro Rail project, he said.
Mr. Palaniswami said he only wanted the government to resolve the small hitches faced by the passengers. “Since it was opened in a hurry, passengers are launching protests,” he said, adding that there was a delay in completing the work during his regime because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
