Commuters standing in the open due to a lack of a shelter at GH Roundabout bus stop in Erode on Friday.
| Photo Credit: M. Govarthan
Commuters in Erode city is left at the mercy of a blistering sun as most bus stops in the city don’t even have basic shelters. This when temperatures in the district has been hovering between 40° Celsius and 41.11° Celsius for over three months, triggering a heatwave.The mercury, which stayed above 35°C since February, touched 40.06°C in April. Combined with rising humidity, the extreme weather has made daily commuting an ordeal. Yet, barring a few bus shelters within Corporation limits, most bus stops offer no protection from the scorching sun.Hundreds of commuters use bus stops at Panneerselvam Park, Meenakshi Sundaranar Road, GH Roundabout, Teachers Colony, Surampatti Four Road Junction, Railway Station, Soolai, Solar, Manikoondu, Kanirowther Kulam, Karungalpalayam, Rangampalayam, Veerappanchatiram and Thindal every day. However, with neither shelters nor shade-giving trees available, passengers are forced to wait directly under the blazing sun.“The so-called smart city cannot provide even basic shelters for commuters,” said S. Gomathi, a college student waiting for a bus on Perundurai Road. She criticised the Corporation for spending over ₹100 crore on commercial complexes that have remained vacant for more than three years while failing to allocate funds to provide shelters at bus stops.Commuters blamed the district administration and civic body for neglecting a basic public amenity in a city with a population exceeding 6 lakh. College students, office-goers, labourers, elderly persons and patients are forced to endure the harsh heat between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. every day.Health experts have warned that prolonged exposure to intense heat and humidity could lead to dehydration, exhaustion and heatstroke, particularly among vulnerable groups.Residents said several shelters, removed during road-widening works, were never reinstalled. At bus stops near the Government Headquarters Hospital, the absence of seating has added to the hardship faced by the elderly and patients.As the city reels under record temperatures, residents say the continued neglect of bus stop infrastructure is no longer merely an inconvenience but a serious public safety issue, demanding immediate intervention from the Corporation and district administration. Published - May 22, 2026 06:58 pm IST
