The State Highways Department has opened nine swanky bus shelters on the widened Chittoor-Cuddalore Highway in Tiruvannamalai town to help devotees commute easily to the Arunachaleswara temple, especially during Karthigai Deepam festival season.

Officials of State Highways, which maintains the stretch, said that of the total 205 kms between Chittoor and Cuddalore, the stretch was widened into four lanes for a distance of 19.5 kms in Tiruvannamalai district in 2023. As part of basic amenities, 24 bus stops were created on the stretch.

Despite buses halting at the bus stops, commuters had to wait in the open due to the lack of shelters. “With the onset of Northeast monsoon, new shelters at these bus stops will help commuters, including women and senior citizens, to board buses safely. Adequate safety measures in the new facility especially during night should be made,” said B. Vasanthi, a commuter.

On an average, 40,000 vehicles use the stretch every day. The widened road has a 15-metres-wide carriageway, a 1.2 metre-wide median and a 1.5 metre-wide storm water drains on both the sides, LED streetlights, a tiled footpath, a rainwater harvesting system and native trees. After TNSTC vehicles, buses from Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka also use the stretch to reach pilgrim centres in Kancheepuram, Tiruvannamalai, Villupuram and Puducherry.

Minister for Public Works and Highways E.V. Velu inaugurated new bus shelters in the presence of Deputy Speaker of Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, K. Pitchandi, and Tiruvannamalai MP C.N. Annadurai.

Highways officials said that new bus shelters were built at a cost of ₹1.35 crore. Each shelter has seating arrangements, LED lights, digital display of bus number and routes, CCTV cameras and a complaint box. The new facility will be maintained by Tiruvannamalai Corporation and village panchayats on the route.

The State Highways Department has accelerated the desilting of a key canal near Tiruvannamalai town to prevent flooding of the temple town during Northeast monsoon, especially the Karthigai Deepam festival season.

Officials of State Highways, which maintains the canal, said that the excess rainwater from Samuthiram tank, which is maintained by Tiruvannamalai Corporation, gets discharged into the canal before falling into Thurunjal river, a tributary of Then Pennai river. The desilting work of the canal is being done after many years. “Desilting will prevent the inundation of tail-end areas of the Corporation (Tiruvannamalai) during the monsoon. The temple town will be free from waterlogging,” S. Anbarasu, Assistant Executive Engineer (AEE), State Highways, told The Hindu.

Minister for Public Works and Highways E.V. Velu inspected the ongoing desilting work with Tiruvannamalai Collector K. Tharpagaraj and Corporation Commissioner S. Selva Balaji. “Houses in the low-lying areas of the town are prone to waterlogging. Such desilting work of key waterbodies will help to prevent inundation in these areas,” said K. Sampath, a resident.

Highways’ officials said the existing canal runs between Samuthiram tank and Outer Bypass Road, a distance of five kms. The canal is around 10 ft deep whereas its width varies between 15 ft and 22 ft as it navigates along the arterial road and paddy fields.

As part of the work, loads of silt that got deposited in the canal were removed for the past few weeks. Bunds of the canal were strengthened. The original width and depth of the waterbody have been restored. Currently, the desilting work has been completed for a distance of 4.2 kms on the route. The entire work will be completed in the coming weeks. On its part, Tiruvannamalai Corporation has desilted its stormwater drain, which runs for 103 kms, to discharge excess rainwater from the Arunachala Hill. Depth and length of drains vary from 3 ft to six ft and two ft to five ft, respectively, depending on total available road space, civic officials said.

Residents said that areas like Rathabai Nagar, Sernapoondi Nagar, Keel Anaikarai, Nallavanpalayam and Thenmathur within Corporation limits were inundated during the 2024 floods. During last year’s rain, affected families were shifted to temporary shelters in the town before rain water receded from the houses.