Trichy: People of Thiruverumbur and Thuvakudi were surprised to see a Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) bus plying with thorns of seemai karuvelam thickets blocking the rear door of the vehicle on Tuesday.The crew members had resorted to the crude form of blocking the way of passengers as the footboard was damaged. Understandably, passengers have raised concern at the poor condition of the city buses connecting rural hamlets.Local people said that the TNSTC bus bearing registration number TN 45 N 2355 used to ply between Chathiram bus stand and Sorakkudipatti in Thanjavur district covering Gandhi market, Thiruverumbur and Thuvakudi localities. Mostly school and college students from villages in and around Puthukudi village commuted in the bus to reach the city.TNSTC sources said that the bus which was on its way to Sorakkudipatti from Chathiram bus stand had sustained the damage in the rear footboard while negotiating a speed breaker near Gandhi market. “As soon as our crew noticed the damage, they placed thorns to prevent people from boarding the bus through it.The bus was immediately moved to Thuvakudi depot for repair works,” an official with TNSTC said. Though the bus was moved to the depot in time, frequent passengers expressed concern over the safety of TNSTC’s city buses.“Perhaps TNSTC on Tuesday acted swiftly to repair the damaged bus but such buses in weak condition could have been prevented from leaving the depot,” P Lenin, district secretary of DYFI, said. Passengers said that during peak hours the bus would be completely occupied by school and college students who hang on to the footboards. Fortunately, the incident occurred at non-peak hour when none stood over the rear footboard.

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