Chennai, Mar 28 (IANS): A heavy rush was witnessed in metro railway stations in Chennai as the state-run Metropolitan Transport Corporation( MTC) buses stayed off the road due to the pan India strike called by joint trade unions.

Koymabedu station was particularly packed with long queues for tickets.

When contacted, Southern Railway officials said that there is an unprecedented increase in the passenger flow in all the metro stations in Chennai.

Koyambedu, Triplicane, Nungambakkam and all major stations are overcrowded as buses are not plying. All these areas have heavy traffic rush.

According to an official, Nungambakkam station had more than 55,000 passengers from 5 a.m on Monday till 12 p.m. He said that by evening the exact number of passengers who have used train services from the station will be known.

Notably, around 1000 MTC buses are off the road in Chennai corporation alone due to the strike against the privatisation policies of the Union government.

Office-goers, students, and daily wage earners were stranded on the road.

Selvaraj. R, a leader of the CPI affilated AITUC at Koyambedu, Chennai while speaking to IANS said: "The people of the city are responding positively to the strike called by joint trade unions against the policies of the central government and its privatisation drive. We have no other option than to raise our voice against these anti-people policies of the Government of India."