Chennai, January 13: Around 6.4 lakh people traveled from Chennai to various districts in state-run special buses over three days leading up to the Pongal festivities, informed Tamil Nadu Transport Department officials.
On Sunday, January 12, over 2.17 lakh passengers boarded government-operated special buses arranged to manage the surge in demand for transport during the festive season. To further accommodate the increased rush, the department scheduled 3,461 buses on January 13. Between January 10 and 13, a total of 14,104 buses were deployed, which included 2,092 regular services and 5,736 special services.
In addition to the buses operated from Chennai, around 7,800 special buses were deployed from other towns to meet the demand.
Looking ahead to the post-Pongal period, from January 15 to 19, a total of 22,676 buses will be operated, including 10,460 daily services and 5,290 special buses from Chennai, along with 6,926 buses from other regions.
The government has declared January 17 as a public holiday, aligning the two weekends with the official Pongal holidays from January 13 to 16, creating a nine-day festive period. This year, over 13 lakh people are expected to leave Chennai during this time. To handle this enormous demand, approximately 14,100 government buses, 370 trains, 8,000 private buses, and a large number of private vehicles will be in operation.
