Chennai: A long week-end, ensuring four continuous holidays for those working in five-day week offices if they just took a day’s leave on Friday, has led to flight charges shooting through the roof, private buses starting from the Kilambakkam bus terminus demanding Rs 3500 for a bus ride to Kanyakumari and the highway leading to the districts south of Chennai clogged with vehicular traffic from Wednesday. The long week-end starts on Independence Day, falling on Thursday, and stretches up to Sunday, prompting people from the districts to avail a four-day off and take off home by flights, trains, buses and cars from Chennai. Since trains were fully booked in advance, even four months ahead of the journey, and the unreserved coaches could not accommodate more than a certain number of people even if they packed themselves like sardines, the crowd spilled over to the long-distance bus stand and the airport. Airlines cashed on the desperation of the people by hiking the fares. As against the average normal rate of Rs 4,301 to Thoothukudi from Chennai, the holiday rate was Rs 10,796. For Madurai it was Rs 11,716 against the normal rate of Rs 4,063, for Tiruchi Rs 7,192 against the usual Rs 2,382, for Coimbatore Rs 5,349 (normal rate Rs 3369) and for Salem a whopping Rs 8,277 against the normal Rs 2715. Even in the Omni buses from Kilambakkam, the rate quote for Salem was Rs 3000 while it was Rs 2500 for Coimbatore, Rs 3000 for Madurai and Rs 3500 for any destination south of Madurai like Tirunelveli, Nagercoil and Kanyakumari. So the maddening crowds were spotted at the bus stand and airport from the evening hours and highways leading to the southern districts of the State also choked with private cars and other vehicles. However, the flight fares to destinations in neighbouring and other States did not show any phenomenal increase. Keeping with the trend of employees leaving home for long week-ends, some private companies even gave an additional holiday on Friday to enable them to have a long holiday without taking leave. Some offices even allowed employees to sign out early on Wednesday, which was evident from the crowds at the bus stand and airport before the close of office hours.
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