TIRUCHI
People who had travelled to the city to celebrate Deepavali with their near and dear ones boarded buses to return to Chennai and other places of work on Sunday. The Central Bus Stand, omni bus stand and the three temporary bus stands set up by the city police saw a large footfall of travellers throughout the day.
Despite the announcement made by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin requesting travellers to postpone their travel to Chennai by a few days due to heavy rains, several buses leaving the Central Bus Stand to the capital city were at full capacity.
Many travellers said that they had to report for work on Monday morning as the leave they had taken for the festival had come to an end.
"We will lose salary if we extend the leave. The rain cannot be a reason for us to extend it," Rajashekar, who works at a private company in Chennai, said.
Many college students too boarded buses to travel to their education institutions in Madurai, Thanjavur and Chennai after celebrating Deepavali at their homes in Tiruchi.
"We reached the city on Monday, celebrated the festival at our homes and are ready to go back now," S. Manoj, a student, said enthusiastically. The students had semester examinations coming up, and had to prepare for them, he said.
The city police had made special arrangements at the Chathram Bus Stand, Central Bus Stand and the three temporary bus stands — on Mannarpuram service road; Illupur Salai near Mannarpuram and opposite to the Sona Mina theatre — to ease traffic congestion. Police personnel were deployed to regulate the crowds.
The Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation was operating specials to various destinations from Tiruchi and other centres in the region depending on the need.
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