MTC commuters get a taste of lockdown on Tuesday morning

25/03/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENTCHENNAI

MTC commuters had a taste of the lockdown on Tuesday morning itself as limited bus services were operated. Though the lockdown was to fully come into effect only from 6 p.m. onwards, commuters, particularly those in the southern and western suburbs, faced severe hardships because of limited services. On some routes, buses were not operated at all.

Bus services were severely curtailed in some localities, which are already poorly connected, such as Sithalapakkam, Kovilancheri, Mambakkam, West Velachery, Pattabhiram, Valasaravakkam, and Mogappair.

T. Kumar, a resident of Sithalapakkam, said he found it difficult to reach Medavakkam as there were no MTC buses and finally had to pay double the cost by travelling in a share autorickshaw.

A senior official of MTC, denying that bus services were not adequate, said buses were operated normally.

As most of the drivers and conductors do not have personal transport, the buses were started late, he said.