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Without a shelter in Chennai
These are not relocated, but regular bus stops that have never been displaced from their habitats; yet these stopovers have never offered their commuters a seat or a roof
‘Rooftop garden’ in Nungambakkam
Things that fall into ruin gloriously have a whacky air about them, being sufficiently off-kilter to draw attention, even admiration. Any adventure story worth the paper it is printed on has to feature a structure long in disuse and falling to pieces. That is a cardinal rule of adventure-story writing — recall Enid Blyton’s masterpieces.
Pushpa Nagar bus stop is located adjacent to old TNHB flats
Delectably dilapidated, a structure on Tank Bund Road can be carted into any adventure story as a minor prop. The only hitch is that this structure is much in use. It hums to life every few minutes when a bus stops by. It is a functional MTC stopover and is called Pushpa Nagar bus stop. It sports an old brick-and-mortar shelter. The pillars and roof are weather-beaten. The paint has peeled off. The ground under the roof is anything but a flooring. The bus shelter caps off the picture of abject decrepitness with a moptop of vegetation. Weeds have been allowed a free run right on top. The bus stop is located adjacent to old TNHB flats. Among buses that pause at this stop are those headed for Mogappair, Anna Nagar, Villivakkam and surrounding areas.
On August 8, 2024, when The Hindu Downtown took a look at this shelter, a commuter was waiting for a bus to Mogappair, and was seated on what was a non-seat (the pillars widen at the base to offer a form of seating) and flanked by two bikes.
Out in the cold
On Sydenhams Road
On Sydenhams Road (also known as Raja Muthiah Road) in Periamet, a bus stop right outside the old and strikingly-vintage building of India Leather Corporation is unwelcoming of commuters. It does not offer them a seat. It is a shelterless bus stop (called Periamet bus stop). With a fancy metal-link barricade, the building of the Indian Leather Corporation gives these commuters the cold shoulder. There are hardly any other projection, either by way of a roof or a sunshade for them to take shelter under when it rains. The shops nearby — selling uniform pertaining to government line agencies and boots and other paraphernalia — have their wares spilling over, and the space outside every shop’s threshold is hardly empty.
Police booth as bus shelter in Chintadripet
Stopover in Vadapalani provides bus bay, but no shelter
Bus stops either fail on all counts or on minor ones. It is a rare bus stop that would tick the boxes for supplementary features, but be pathetically lacking in those features that are noticeably first in importance.
On 100-Feet Road in Vadapalani, at what is called Thiru Nagar bus stop, there is no shelter, nor a lone board displaying bus numbers. But it has been endowed with a smartly raised bus bay, the metal barricade standing firm. A bus bay is extremely helpful, but not an essential feature. A shelter is central to the comfort and even safety a bus stop can offer commuters.
Is this bus shelter on Arcot Road safe for commuters?
At Thiru Nagar bus stop in Vadapalani
And this bus bay serves no purpose. On second thoughts, it does, but not the purpose it is designed for. Usually, vehicles other than buses slide through it. And the buses stop outside the bay, which explains why some commuters wait standing next to the bus bay barricade. In bus drivers’ defence, with vehicles parked all over the place, it is difficult to thread in and out of this bus bay.
A better thing to do would be to remove this unhelpful bus bay and plant a plain board on the pavement announcing the stopover. That would at least ensure commuters do not have to board buses and disembark from the journey in the middle of the road. The buses would stop closer to the pavement
The best thing to do, of course, is installing a bus shelter.
Under a borrowed shelter
The Aminijikarai Market bus stop (for buses headed towards Kilpauk and beyond) has reportedly never sported a bus shelter. It is under the extended roof of a bank building that commuters stand waiting for their wheels.
| Photo Credit:
PRINCE FREDERICK
Old bus shelter relocated, but old habits die hard
On East Cooum Road in Chintardripet, a bus stop relocated to a new spot on the same road, but forgot to include the bus shelter in its luggage. This act of dereliction left commuters without a proper roof in the new stop (opposite Ayyamudali Street on East Cooum Road) for a long time. They found a makeshift roof in the sunshade of a police booth, which also became the new stop.
On East Cooum Road in Chintardripet
Immediately after The Hindu Downtown highlighted the lack of a bus shelter in its July 28, 2024 issue, the old bus shelter was moved to the new spot and matched with the long-relocated bus stop.
In the manner of a long-caged animal that would not slip away even when the cage is suddenly and unexpectedly left open, commuters seem to not notice the bus shelter.
On August 7, 2024, when The Hindu Downtown visited the bus stop, two autos were nuzzling against the stainless steel seat, and commuters were huddled under the sunshade of the police booth.
A resident of the area points out that some people do sit in the bus shelter, but a majority prefer to stand under the booth’s sunshade. He further notes the bus shelter is tucked inside, and being there, commuters would not have a view of the approaching bus, as the booth obstructs their line of sight.
But now, they know that when it rains, there is a wide roof to run to. So, the relocation of the bus shelter is not entirely in vain, after all.
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