E-Paper
Office goers from Dombivli, Kalyan say they have to wait in bus queues for 2 hours
With the state government re-opening establishments early this week, office goers from Dombivli, Kalyan and Badlapur are struggling to commute to their workplaces.
With the state government re-opening establishments early this week, office goers from Dombivli, Kalyan and Badlapur are struggling to commute to their workplaces. From standing in long bus queues for couple of hours to spending a huge amount on a more secure mode of commute, office goers said they have been witnessing a harrowing experience.
Since Monday, as many offices have begun functioning with 10% staff, most of the employees from the suburbs of Kalyan, Dombivli, Ambernath and Badlapur have been travelling to Mumbai to reach to their workplaces. With local trains still not operational, office goers have to depend on state transport and private buses.
Sahil Nakhwa, 36, a Badlapur resident, has to travel to Ghatkopar every day for work. “It is very chaotic at the bus stops or depots, as we have to wait in queue for almost two hours. There is no social distancing followed because the stops are very crowded. Although I am worried about my health, I will get paid only if I reach go to work. So I have no option but to take the bus. Even after getting into a bus, we travel for almost four hours one way every day,” said Nakhwa.
The Thane traffic police too have said that they have been dealing traffic snarls as commuters only have the option commuting by road.
Amit Kale, deputy commissioner of police (traffic), Thane, said, “To control the traffic, we have regulated timings of heavy vehicles from 12pm to 4pm, and 11pm to 5am only. Moreover, as people are not allowed to venture out at night, we have a special night patrol team to monitor movement. The traffic during peak hours is more towards Mumbai and Navi Mumbai; however, we are keeping an eye out on the permissible limit of passengers in all vehicles,” Amit Kale said.
Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) buses have been plying state government employees to Mantralaya. “We operate on one route to Mantralaya. Some buses begin from Badlapur, some from Kalyan and Thane. Every day, there are around 400 to 600 trips made on this route,” said an MSRTC official.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has announced that the state is trying to resume train services for those in essential services. This has raised questions on when the services for the train services would commence for those in non-essential services. The railway passengers association claimed that most offices are calling more than 10-15% employees, which will require crowd control and monitoring.
Lata Argade, secretary, Suburban Railway Passengers Association, said, “There needs to be some control executed over the office attendance. Ten percent staff in every office as per rules is permitted. However, no one ensures if any workplace is calling more employees than the permitted limit. The crowd will be regulated only if establishments follow the 10% guideline or else people will continue to suffer.”
However, not all office goers are keen on the resumption of local train services. They instead say that there should be an increase in the frequency of buses. “It is not safe to allow local trains yet, but more buses services will definitely help in reducing the queues at bus stops and depots,” said Dipti Sawant, 29, a Kalyan resident who travels to Ghansoli for work.
