Residents of Alambakkam and surrounding villages near Lalgudi in Tiruchi have sought additional bus service to Viragalur village during peak hours to prevent footboard travel by students.
Students from Alambakkam, Thinnakulam, Pudurpalayam, Kulamanickam, Vilagam, Ilandaikudam, Vandrampalayam, Kovilesanai and surrounding hamlets suffer a lot in reaching their schools in Viragalur on time because of limited bus services in the morning.
More than 600 students are studying at the government primary school and government-aided higher secondary school functioning in Viragalur. At present, there are two buses, a TNSTC and a private bus, plying on the route, making two trips a day each.
Students from the villages entirely depend on the bus service. “Many times, the bus service has been irregular, forcing the parents to drop off or pick up students. Only a few parents have two-wheelers while the others have to walk around 2 km. Bus service is available only at limited hours,” said M. Velan, a resident of Alambakkam.
As the limited number of buses being operated to their hamlets are heavily crowded, particularly during morning and evening, students had to resort to footboard travel or sit on the roof to reach the schools.
Parents and villagers have urged the authorities to take steps to increase bus services during school hours. They had earlier submitted petitions to the village officials demanding the operation of buses.
When contacted, a TNSTC official said they would explore the possibilities of operating bus services between the routes to facilitate hassle-free travel for the students.
Published - June 30, 2024 06:48 pm IST
