Coimbatore: With hot days ahead, Coimbatore’s first air-conditioned bus shelter at Sulur is expected to offer a huge relief to the commuters.Set up at a cost of Rs12 lakh, the bus shelter was inaugurated on Wednesday (March 11). According to an official source, the shelter, which comes with a selfie point, was established by Sulur town panchayat with the corporate social responsibility contribution from LG multi-speciality hospital, which provided Rs7 lakh. The remaining amount was met from the local body fund. “Work on the bus shelter was completed in a record time. Its construction began in Dec 2025, and it was inaugurated on March 11. The facility will be locked during nights to avoid unauthorized occupancy,” the official said. Many long-distance commuters have welcomed the new AC bus shelter, which is equipped with CCTV cameras, and requested officials to maintain the facility properly. Sulur town panchayat president Devi Mannavan said they had won the best panchayat award in 2024. “After that, we decided to do something different for the public and came up with the idea of an AC bus shelter.” V Saranya, a resident of Palladam who works at a finance company at Sulur, said she had to wait for more than 15 minutes for a bus to return home after work daily. “Waiting for the bus in the hot sun is exhausting. This AC bus shelter offers much needed comfort for commuters like me. I feel happy to sit here and take some rest. And I don’t mind even if the bus comes late by 30 minutes.” N Kavitha, of Lakshmi Mills at Palladam, who works as an accountant at Sulur, said she used the AC bus shelter on Saturday to get the feel of it. “I just wanted to experience it and so I dropped by today (Saturday). It was refreshing and relaxing. For those waiting for a bus after work, this set-up will surely provide a stress-free experience. It will be better if drinking water is made available within the shelter.” K Subramaniam, a resident of Kangeyam in Tirupur who works at Sulur, said the local body should ensure proper upkeep of the facility. “Similar shelters at Papampatti Pirivu and Singanallur will be a huge relief to the bus passengers, especially long-distance commuters.”
