Heavy rains fail to deter people as they throng markets to make last minute purchases for Diwali

Chennai: Heavy rains lashing many parts of Tamil Nadu did not hamper the festive spirits as several people thronged the markets and various commercial establishments to make last-minute purchases for Diwali.

The festival of lights will be celebrated on October 20.

The Tamil Nadu government has made elaborate arrangements, including special buses at vital locations across the state enabling people make smooth travel to their respective hometowns to celebrate the festival.

Southern Railway has also announced special trains to accommodate larger number of passengers traveling to reach their respective destinations.

The state has been witnessing heavy rainfall over the last two-three days following the onset of North East Monsoon on October 16. On account of heavy rainfall, reservoirs in the southern region received copious inflows.

Many districts, including Theni, Coimbatore, Madurai, Tiruchirappalli, Ariyalur, despite heavy rains, have been witnessing large number of people visiting markets, shopping streets and malls to make last minute purchases to celebrate the festival of lights.

State Transport Minister S S Sivasankar, who visited the Kilambakkam Bus Terminuses and at Koyambedu in Chennai, said in the last two-three days, over three lakh people have travelled to their hometowns in government-run buses.

"There have been unprecedented bookings by passengers for taking up their journey in state-run buses," he said on Saturday, indicating large number of people were utilising the government-operated special buses.

While 5 lakh people used government services to reach their destinations during the Diwali festival in 2024, in the last two-three days itself, the number of people who travelled in buses crossed 3 lakh, he added.

The minister said the Transport department has roped in the services of private bus operators to meet the huge demand during the festive season.

Sivasankar said nearly 25 more additional buses are being operationalised to people travelling to Bengaluru from Koyambedu.

Similarly, to those passengers taking up travel to places like Kumbakonam, Velankanni, Pondicherry, 134 special buses are being run. "These buses would be operated via the East Coast Road (instead of the traditional route of using the Grand Southern Trunk road)" he said.

To places like Krishnagiri and Hosur, he said 150 buses are being operated from Koyambedu.

For passengers who need to take up traveling to Kilambakkam from Koyambedu in order to travel to southern districts, Sivasankar said local buses are being operated every two minutes.

As heavy traffic is expected in all the arterial roads connecting various districts with Chennai, the transport department has suggested people travelling in their own vehicles opt for alternate routes to reach their destinations.