TN gears up for Pongal with special bus services, gift hampers

Chennai, Jan 5 With Pongal, Tamil Nadu’s biggest festival, set to be celebrated on January 15, the State Transport Corporation will operate 15,000 special buses for travellers heading to their hometowns for the holidays.

The service will be from January 10 to 13. To curb the exploitation of passengers by omnibus operators charging extra fares, the Tamil Nadu Transport Department has formed 30 inspection teams.

These teams will begin statewide inspections this week. In cases of violations, they have been authorised to impose penalties, seize buses, and temporarily revoke permits as punitive measures.

Out of the 15,000 special buses planned, 12,000 will run from Chennai to various destinations, supplementing the 2,092 buses that already operate daily.

Passengers can board these buses from the termini at Kilambakkam, Koyambedu, and Madhavaram.

As the festive season approaches, all trains departing from Chennai to southern districts are fully booked, and bus reservations are rapidly increasing.

Officials report that over 75,000 reservations have already been made, with numbers expected to rise significantly starting January 6.

Public holidays for Pongal have been declared from January 14 to 16, creating a six-day break, including the weekend on January 18 and 19.

A meeting led by Transport Minister S.S. Sivasankar on January 6 will finalise plans for the special bus operations, with a formal announcement expected afterwards.

Pongal, one of Tamil Nadu’s most significant festivals, also sees the state government distributing gift hampers to ration cardholders.

These hampers typically include dhotis, sarees, and essential items to help families celebrate without financial strain.

This year’s gift hamper is expected to include Rs 1,000 in cash, one kilogram of rice, sugar, tamarind, and sugarcane, along with 21 essential festival items.

To address inefficiencies in past distributions, the government is considering direct bank transfers for the cash component.

If bank transfer challenges arise, funds will be distributed through ration shops as done traditionally.

Special tokens will be issued to ration cardholders to avoid overcrowding during the distribution.

Tamil Nadu government has allocated Rs 100 crore for the production of 1.77 crore dhotis and an equal number of sarees.

These will be distributed to ration cardholders and beneficiaries under the Old Age Pension Scheme.

The government has also decided to use cotton yarn for the 2024-25 production cycle and introduce polyester yarn for the 2025-26 cycle.

This initiative benefits 63,000 powerlooms across the state.

Compared to last year’s production of one crore dhotis and 1.24 crore sarees, this year will see an increase of 77 lakh dhotis and 53 lakh sarees.

Source: IANS