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Work to construct a modern bus terminus at a cost of ₹7.85 crore in Ambur town near Tirupattur on Chennai-Bengaluru National Highway (NH-48) commenced, bringing an end to a long-standing demand of commuters for such a facility in the region.

Officials of the Ambur Municipality, which maintains the existing dilapidated bus terminus built in 1988, said that the steady increase in visitors, especially pilgrims from neighbouring States like Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, has necessitated the civic body to rebuild the cramped terminus.

Along with civic officials, Collector G. Ravikumar inspected the work for the new bus terminus. Work on the terminus is the first major project taken up by the civic body after the State Assembly election. “The new bus terminus will have basic amenities for commuters and the bus crew. It will also help commuters from at least 20 surrounding villages to commute easily to various places,” A. Muthusamy, commissioner, Ambur municipality, told The Hindu.

As per the plan, the new terminus will be built on a 0.97-acre plot. The facility will have a waiting hall for commuters, bus bays, a commercial complex, parking lots, a public announcement system, digital time display boards, a time-keeper’s office, water taps, toilets and ramps for persons with disabilities. It will also have CCTV cameras and solar-powered LED lights.

At present, 120 buses, including 35 private buses, operate on the Ambur-Pernambut Main Road, linking major towns such as Tirupattur, Jolarpet, Vaniyambadi, Gudiyatham, and Katpadi, with over 160 trips every day. “The existing bus terminus does not have basic amenities for commuters. The new facility should end our ordeal especially with better facilities for women and senior citizens,” said Mohammed Wasim, a commuter.

As the town is a major hub for leather manufacturing, the civic body plans to connect arterial roads with the new terminus to help travellers easily commute to other big towns and industrial centres like Vaniyambadi, Ranipet and Walajah.

To increase revenue generation, the civic body also plans to double the number of shops in the old terminus to 80 shops with lodging facilities on the first floor of the commercial complex in the new terminus. The lodging facility will help tourists looking for affordable accomodation and make travel easy, municipal officials said.

An industrial town, Ambur consists of 36 wards covering 17.97 sq.km. with a population of 1.50 lakh persons, who are mostly dependent on farming and small business, officials said.