E-Paper
Unexpected turnout: A day after consecration, bus services to Ayodhya suspended
Ayodhya DM Nitish Kumar on Tuesday afternoon requested that all roadways buses going to Ayodhya be stalled for 2 hours
The Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation on request from the district magistrate of Ayodhya suspended all buses to the newly consecrated pilgrimage site due to the large number of visitors and unmanageable crowds in the city on Tuesday.
Ayodhya DM Nitish Kumar on Tuesday afternoon requested that all roadways buses going to Ayodhya be stalled for 2 hours. However, the two hours later extended to the entire day. Later, bus service to Ayodhya was suspended until further notice.
He said, “No passenger should be sent to Ayodhya right now. There is a problem in controlling the increasing crowd. Arrangements should be made to send people elsewhere from Ayodhya. There are no restrictions for travellers beyond Ayodhya.”
The 933 UPSRTC buses that were travelling directly or via Ayodhya have either been stalled or diverted for the day. Moreover, the Ayodhya Dham Express fleet of 10 buses, or the Ramraths that would take pilgrims directly to the Ram Mandir, that were supposed to hit the streets in January, are also stationed at the depots in Lucknow, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Ballia and Prayagraj, waiting to be called to duty.
The DM directed that the buses going on Lucknow to Gorakhpur route should be operated via Ramnagar-Gonda. “Due to huge crowds, we have been giving instructions that all buses going to Ayodhya should be stalled, and instead arrangements to transport people outside Ayodhya should be made, before more passengers are ferried in. We are waiting on the DM’s instructions before we resume services to Ayodhya again,” said UPSRTC media in-charge Ajit Singh.
