Chennai: More than 15 lakh passengers travelled out of Chennai by govt and private buses and trains between Nov 5 and 7 to their hometowns for Diwali. This included nearly seven lakh passengers who travelled by govt and private buses, while thousands more left in private vehicles.The rush continued on Saturday, with passengers streaming into bus terminuses. On Saturday till 8pm, 3,319 govt buses operated, carrying 1.35 lakh passengers. This took the three-day passenger count on govt buses to 5.15 lakh. These included 5,743 regular buses, 4,405 govt special services and 1,013 private contract buses.At Kilambakkam, passengers had mixed experiences. While some managed to book tickets and board buses without prior reservations, others complained of long delays. “We came early, but buses are arriving at least two hours late. At this rate, my family and I may reach Tenkasi only on Diwali afternoon,” said S Rajesh Kumar.A Ambika appreciated the seating arrangements but feared she would not reach Kerala before midnight. “I have to take a bus to Coimbatore and then another to Kerala. There is still a huge crowd. I hope I reach home before midnight,” she said.Govt buses carried 1.4 lakh passengers on Thursday and 2.39 lakh on Friday. The department had planned 15,659 services over the three days.A Anbalagan, president of the All Omni Bus Owners Association, said operators ran more than 4,717 buses over the three days, carrying over 1.8 lakh passengers. This included 75,900 passengers on Friday, 56,800 on Thursday and 56,000 on Saturday.Last year, more than 8.3 lakh passengers travelled by govt and private buses from Chennai between Oct 16 and 18. Of these, 6.15 lakh used govt buses and 1.74 lakh travelled by private buses.Southern Railway operated 132 special trains during this year’s Diwali period, carrying around three lakh passengers a day from Central, Egmore and Tambaram, besides augmenting 22 mail and express trains with additional coaches and running eight unreserved MEMU services. The Railway Protection Force apprehended five people carrying firecrackers at Chennai Central and Egmore on Nov 6.
