Mass Exodus from Chennai Ahead of Pongal Festival: Special Bus Services Arranged
With Pongal turning into a 9-day celebration due to extended weekends and a government holiday on January 12, Chennai witnessed a mass exodus. On January 10 alone, 1.87 lakh passengers traveled on special buses.
To handle the surge, 14,104 buses (2,092 regular and 5,736 special services) are operating daily from January 10 to 13, with an additional 7,800 services from other towns, totaling 21,904 buses in four days. Post-festival, from January 15 to 19, 22,676 services are planned, including 10,460 daily services and 6,926 town-based services.
Key terminals like CMBT (Koyambedu), Madhavaram, and KCBT (Kilambakkam) cater to major routes such as Puducherry, Madurai, and Salem. Authorities have advised alternate routes to ease traffic and deployed additional police at toll plazas.
For assistance, a 24-hour helpline (94450 14436) is available. Complaints about overcharging in omni buses can be reported via toll-free number 1800 425 6151.
