UPSRTC sends 110 buses carrying migrants from Noida

Noida: As the Delhi government announced a six-day lockdown on Monday, a number of migrant workers gathered at the Noida Depot to go to their home towns in different parts of UP

Noida: As the Delhi government announced a six-day lockdown on Monday, a number of migrant workers gathered at the Noida Depot to go to their home towns in different parts of UP. Officials of the Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) said they arranged 110 buses on Monday to send migrant workers to their home towns.

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R K Tripathi, assistant regional manager, UPSRTC Noida, said that a number of people had gathered at the Noida depot to go to different parts of the state on Monday. “We sent thousands of people in 110 buses,” he said.

Some migrant workers were looking for public transport on Tuesday as well. 22-year-old Suraj Kumar was seen at the bus depot waiting for his bus for Kanpur on Tuesday afternoon near the City Centre. “I had come to Noida at my maternal uncle’s place on a vacation last month. The situation was better when I came here. Now, there is a sense of fear due to Covid,” Kumar said.

Shyam Lal Gola, president of All India Luxury Bus Union, said that around 2,500 private buses were dispatched to different cities and states on Monday. “A number of migrant workers had gathered at the depot at Anand Vihar, Kashmiri Gate, Mori Gate, etc on Monday and Tuesday. These people had apprehensions that the lockdown will extend and they will be trapped again,” Gola said.

Gola said that the bus operators are also facing problems in operation. “The police and transport department officials stop the buses at different places for checking and claim there is no social distancing and issue challans. The luxury buses consume a lot of fuel and it is viable to offer this service only when all seats are full. But they want us to ply with half capacity. If we double the ticket charges, the people will not be able to pay. We request the government to facilitate people reaching home hassle-free,” he said.