Nagore bus stand in poor shape

Decades-old Nagore bus stand in poor condition, lacking infrastructure for spiritual tourists visiting Sufi saint dargah.

Despite Nagore being a spiritual tourist destination, the four-decade-old new bus stand in the town remains in poor shape. With no buses entering it, the bus stand has turned into a parking area for private vehicles.

Former Nagapattinam MLA MGK Nizamudeen rues the lack of infrastructure at the bus stand, which can help thousands of visitors who visit the Nagore dargah of Sufi saint Syed Abdul Qadir Shahul Hamid.

“The new bus stand of Nagore was built in the late 1970s, but has been plagued by lack of maintenance. As Nagapattinam’s main bus stand is 4 km from here, buses were reluctant to enter the bus stand, and over time, its usage stopped. However, during the dargah’s annual festival, locals create temporary shelters and arrangements for buses to come here,” said Mr. Nizam.

“With proper maintenance and basic infrastructure in place, the bus stand can be made functional. At present, the place has become a hub for anti-social elements at night, and there is no police patrolling to check it. The Municipality should create a tourist information centre at the bus stand to provide information to visitors on other popular nearby destinations such as Thirunallar Saneeswaran Temple and Sikkal Murugan Temple,” added Mr. Nizam.

S. Ahamed Rizwan, State president of Student Islamic Organisation, said, “Nagore has a rich history and heritage. Maintaining proper basic infrastructure in Nagore is essential to meet the needs of tourists. The bus stand needs working toilets, a cloakroom and rest halls. Though there are many direct buses to Nagore from several districts, buses go back to Nagapattinam’s main bus stand because there are no facilities here .”

Official sources from the Municipality said that 25-30 years ago buses used to operate from the bus stand. But over the years, they started operating from the Nagapattinam bus stand which is near.

However, the Municipality and the Constituency MLA have sent a proposal to the State government recently to set up a modern bus stand there. There are two toilet and only one is in working. An official of Nagapattinam Municipality, when contacted, gave an assurance to look into the issue.