Title - Heavy rush at railway station, bus stands in Erode

People heading their natives for Deepavali throng these places from morning
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Trains and buses connecting Erode with important towns are running jam-packed as hundreds of families have packed their bags to visit their native places to celebrate the festival of lights.The Erode railway station and bus stands in different parts of the district witnessed heavy rush on Monday as thousands of anxious people, heading home to celebrate Deepavali, thronged since morning to board buses and trains.Hundreds of people were found waiting in serpentine queues in front of the unreserved ticket counters at the station. In the evening, the queues stretched up to the veranda.The unreserved coaches of the trains connecting Coimbatore, Tiruchi, Dindigul, Madurai and Chennai had very little space to accommodate the passengers boarding at Erode.The situation was no different at the Erode bus stand. Though the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) introduced additional bus services to clear the rush, people had a hard time in boarding the buses. Most of the buses proceeding to Salem, Tiruchi, Madurai, Theni and Dindigul witnessed huge crowd as a large number of persons from these places, who were working in the textile units in Erode, were heading home.

More than 100 buses are being operated from Erode to Coimbatore, Tiruchi, Salem, Madurai, Chennai, Namakkal, Rasipuram, Tirupur, Palani, Karur and Dindigul.

Special buses are also being operated round the clock from Gobichettipalayam, Sathyamangalam, Anthiyur, Bhavani and Perundurai to Erode and Coimbatore.

The Corporation is also operating buses round the clock connecting the bus stand and the railway station. It has deployed a team of senior officials to monitor the operation of special buses.