Choked highways, bus service disruptions give voters a tough time on day of polling

 Choked highways, bus service disruptions give voters a tough time on day of polling

GST Road was one of the worst affected stretches as vehicles moved at a snail’s pace on Thursday morning, leaving motorists going to the outskirts for voting anguished. A senior Transport Department official said disruptions were largely reported at the Kilambakkam bus terminus near Chennai

Clogged stretch: Vehicles lined up on GST Road near Perungalathur on Thursday.Saptarshi Bhattacharya

The Hindu Bureau

CHENNAI/Erode/  Madurai/Coimbatore

24.04.2026

Grand Southern Trunk (GST) Road witnessed heavy traffic congestion between Perungulathur and the Kilambakkam bus terminus in the morning of Thursday, when the Assembly elections was held across the State.

Cars and buses inched forward at a snail’s pace, taking almost an hour to cross the stretch, which is barely three to four kilometres long. It left several motorists anguished, as some were heading to the outskirts to cast their votes.

Vetrivel Rajan, an advocate from Tambaram, said he was stuck on the stretch for nearly two hours on his way to vote in Oorapakkam. “I was not sure when I would reach or when I could cast my vote. I did not expect this kind of traffic when I started from my residence,” he said. However, the jam began clearing after 10 a.m. A section of people said that owing to closure of schools, families that had cast their vote early were looking to get away for a short break, contributing to the influx of vehicles.

Sources in the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) said Chennai-Tiruchi National Highway also witnessed heavy traffic on Wednesday night. They said the traffic was heavier than what was witnessed during Deepavali last year. Traffic congestion was also reported at a few places, including near the Chengalpattu Collectorate and town, due to the movement of local vehicles, which were ferrying voters, and election vehicles. Since vehicles were frequently criss-crossing on the highway, the flow of traffic slowed down considerably.

Travel across Tamil Nadu also saw disruptions on polling day, with many commuters facing delays and difficulty in accessing bus services as they tried to reach their home towns to cast their votes. A senior Transport Department official said disruptions were largely reported at the Kilambakkam bus terminus near Chennai. Heavy traffic congestion on GST Road on the intervening night between Wednesday and Thursday, caused due to a surge in private vehicles heading to the southern districts, delayed the entry of incoming buses between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m., affecting schedules.

Passengers protest

At the new bus stand at Solar in Erode district, passengers bound for southern districts, such as Madurai and Dindigul, protested, demanding that more buses be operated immediately. Many said they had arrived from Chennai and other cities early on Thursday morning but were unable to proceed further due to the lack of services. Tension prevailed for some time as commuters raised slogans and argued with the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) staff.

Passengers also pointed to operational constraints at the new facility, where only TNSTC buses were being run, while private omni buses continued to function from the Corporation’s Central Bus Stand following an interim court order. This, they said, added to the congestion and delays.

In Coimbatore, hundreds of passengers waited for several hours at the Singanallur bus stand on Wednesday night for buses to the southern districts. A section of commuters staged a brief road blockade in front of the bus stand, protesting the shortage of services. Kiran Kumar, a student, said he reached the bus stand at 6 a.m. but managed to board a Dindigul-bound bus only around 7 a.m., after struggling through heavy crowds. Passengers who reached the Mattuthavani bus stand in Madurai said delays in getting direct buses from cities such as Chennai forced them to rely on connecting services. However, overcrowding at transit points such as Salem and Kallakurichi left many stuck midway.

‘Services streamlined’

The senior Transport Department official said services were later streamlined and additional buses were operated. As of Thursday morning, about 6,738 buses had been run across the State, with around 4.4 lakh passengers boarding from Kilambakkam alone. From April 21 to 23, a total of 10,663 buses, including 5,574 special services, were operated from Kilambakkam, Koyambedu, and Madhavaram bus termini.

Officials said more services would be operated through the day and urged passengers to avoid last-minute travel. However, commuters said the arrangements fell short of demand during the peak rush, leading to overcrowding and delays at several bus stands.