MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court, on Wednesday, issued notice to the State government on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed against the construction of a new bus stand at Ilayangudi town in Sivagangai.
The litigant M Mohamed Nazar, who is the State coordinator of Manithaneya Jananayaga Katchi, stated in the PIL that the existing bus stand in Ilayangudi is situated in the middle of the town at Kamaraj Road. Shops, temples, churches, mosques, schools, court, post office, police station, government hospital, and various other government offices are situated around the bus stand, making the area a suitable point in terms of accessibility, he added.
The residents have also requested the authorities to extend the existing bus stand by demolishing the old town panchayat building, situated adjacent to the bus stand, as the building is in a dilapidated state, he recalled.
However, instead of doing so, the authorities have proposed to construct a new bus stand on the Sivagangai-Paramakudi Bypass Road, which is located nearly 4 km away from the existing bus stand, Nazar alleged.
"The proposed location is near a burial ground and a TASMAC outlet and will not be an ideal place for constructing the bus stand. People have to travel 4 km to reach the new location to venture outside the town and it will put them into great hardship, especially during the night hours," he pointed out.
A Bench comprising Justices D Krishnakumar and Krishnan Ramasamy issued notice to the authorities concerned and adjourned the case to next month.