Five problems that plague Trichy’s Chathiram bus terminus

Trichy: Five years since Trichy’s Chathiram bus terminus was revamped by Trichy corporation at ₹28 crore, the transit hub for city and suburban public transport network has become more chaotic than ever. The renovated terminus has become a dreaded zone in city commuting. The visit by chief minister Joseph Vijay to St Joseph’s College last week and the subsequent adversities faced by the public were just the tip of the iceberg. TOI discusses five potential problems at the terminus.Design flaws in renovation: Despite being a city bus terminus, the redevelopment plan that added 30 bus bays for the city buses are useless. Since city buses spend only a few minutes picking up passengers, the local body instead of designing simple lanes for buses, had provided bus bays which are required only for mofussil and long distance buses. Both private and govt buses are not using the bus bays which are exploited to park two-wheelers. The 30 bus bays, even if used, are insufficient for about 425 city buses operated via the terminus.Buses stop outside the terminus: Though the Integrated Bus Terminus (IBT) in Panjapur on Trichy-Madurai NH became operational on July 16, 2025, around 350 mofussil buses including for Cuddalore, Perambalur, Ariyalur, and Karur districts continue to operate from Chathiram. A portion of Chennai Trunk Road connecting Srirangam and College Road linking multiple educational institutions are used to halt city and mofussil buses. “Chathiram bus terminus should be exclusively a hub for city and suburban buses. Mofussil buses should be moved to Panjapur IBT or the defunct Central bus stand,” P Aiyarappan, a road safety activist said.Five years on, no elevated corridor to decongest traffic: The 2.6km long Kalaignar Arivalayam flyover connecting Mallachipuram on Trichy-Karur NH with Odathurai near the Cauvery bridge proposed by the state highways department in 2021 remains only on paper. The elevated road will help Srirangam, Thiruvanaikoil, Chennai, and Karur bound vehicles to bypass the terminus. “The flyover design awaits the final approval to commence land acquisition. Assembly elections and changes made in the alignment have delayed the flyover work,” a highways department official said. The flyover could have been a one-stop solution for all chaos, if materialized.Encroachments marked but not cleared: Trichy corporation and state highways department in July 2022 identified at least 38 encroachments around the bus terminus. Temporary structures continue to occupy govt land including pavements. But no major eviction drive has been carried out till date to free up space for public mobility. The space freed from encroachments could be used for pedestrians and for on-street parking.Traffic violations, on-street parking: Rampant on-street parking, mostly by cars and auto rickshaws near hotels, lodges and restaurants, choke the roads connecting the bus terminus. While there are three one-way stretches around the terminus, two-wheeler riders and auto rickshaws violate the rule. The public opined that police presence on one-way stretches would curb violations. Pedestrians suffer a lot due to on-street parking as zebra crossings and timers for pedestrians are missing.What the authorities say?A Trichy corporation official said shifting the mofussil buses out to Panjapur IBT is the way out to decongest. The vacant spaces near Chathiram have also become a hub for open urination, affecting the city’s cleanliness credentials. Trichy police commissioner N Kamini said, “Our officers conducted a field study to suggest solutions in decongesting the bus terminus. We are discussing how to divert traffic. A traffic survey was done. Other stakeholders will be consulted.”