Large crowds of office-goers gathered at Kalyan’s state transport bus depot on Tuesday morning, waiting for transport to their places of work. On the second day after public buses started plying, many working people struggled to reach their offices.
Although queues were formed at the bus depot, the increasing crowd made it difficult to maintain social distancing.
“We reached the bus depot around 9am and there were fewer people then. They were wearing masks and gloves and waiting in a queue. However, as chaos regarding the bus routes began, the crowd increased and people had to forgo social distancing. It took an hour for me to find a bus to Bhiwandi,” said Nitin Choghule, 38, a resident of Kalyan. Crowding at the bus depot continued till 10.30am.
Like Choughule, there were hundreds of others who were waiting for buses. “Without any other public transport, people are relying on the state transport facility. However, we have fewer buses running and it is difficult to manage the sudden crowd,” said an officer from Kalyan bus depot.