T.N. Minister K.N. Nehru lays foundation stone for new bus terminus in Srirangam

New bus terminus to be built in Srirangam, Tiruchi City, with dedicated parking & multi-purpose hall. Estimated cost: ₹11.10 crore. Project to be completed in 6 months.

Residents of Srirangam in Tiruchi City can heave a sigh of relief as their long-pending demand for a new bus terminus in the temple town will soon become a reality. The new terminus will come up on 1.08 acres of land on Gandhi Road near the Rajagopuram of Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, at an estimated cost of ₹ 11.10 crore.

On Friday, December 15, 2023, after laying the foundation stone for the new bus terminus, which falls under Ward 3 of the Tiruchi Corporation, T.N. Minister for Municipal Administration and Water Supply K.N. Nehru told mediapersons that a dedicated parking space has been proposed behind the bus terminus to facilitate commuters to park their two-wheelers. The project will be completed within six months, ahead of schedule, he said.

The proposal to establish a new bus stand at Srirangam was mooted a few years ago, following a demand from residents. The Tiruchi Corporation had planned to build the facility on a parcel of land near the Yatri Nivas in Panchakarai on the banks of River Kollidam. However, this proposal was subsequently discarded.

Eventually, the State government, heeding to public demand a few months ago, approved of the proposal forwarded by the civic body to establish a bus terminus on land on Gandhi Road.

The Department of Municipal Administration and Water Supply, through a government order on September 26, accorded administrative sanction to construct the bus terminus at the temple town at an estimated cost of ₹ 11.10 crore. The State government will provide ₹7.77 crore for the construction from the Capital Grant Fund, while the Tiruchi Corporation will contribute the remaining ₹3.33 crore from its general fund.

The two-storey building will have provisions to park eight buses at a time on the ground floor and a commercial complex to house 22 shops, besides rooms for official purposes and toilet blocks. A multi-purpose hall that can accommodate 260 persons and a dining hall for 140 persons will come up on the first floor.

The Minister further said the Department of Municipal Administration is considering a plan to establish an omni bus stand in Srirangam on a plot of six acres of land owned by the Tiruchi Corporation, which is currently under the possession of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department on the banks of River Kollidam.