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Porters to aid passengers at Sangam city bus stations
As part of the initiative, the first batch of porters have been stationed at the Civil Lines bus depot of Prayagraj city.
Moves are afoot to make bus travel easier and hassle-free, especially for the old and the infirm, in Prayagraj. Porters will be at hand at key bus depots to carry heavy luggage of the travellers. As part of the initiative, the first batch of porters have been stationed at the Civil Lines bus depot of Prayagraj city.
Keeping the forthcoming Mahakumbh-2025 in mind, the service has been revived by the Uttar Pradesh State Roadways Transport Corporation (UPSRTC), officials said.
Prayagraj’s assistant regional manager Jaikaran Prasad says that in the first phase, 16 porters have been deployed at Civil Lines Roadways Bus Station and would soon be deployed at Zero Road bus stand as well.
“Right now, they will be offering their services in two shifts of eight hours each at the Civil Lines bus stand. They have also been provided with uniforms and badges,” he added.
Instead of the red uniform of railway porters, the UPSRTC porters have been given blue trousers and shirt as uniform. He explained that these porters - akin to their counterparts in the railways – will also sport a brass badge on their arm with their identification number etched on it, he said.
These porters have been deputed after a thorough check of their identity, behaviour and background. The porters are given badges only after verifying their Aadhaar cards and ensuring that they have no criminal records. Roadways will register and renew them every year, whose fee has been kept at ₹48, he said.
There are 118 buses plying from Civil Lines Bus Station of Prayagraj each day and every day more than 2 lakh passengers come and go through this bus station mainly arriving and leaving on buses plying for Varanasi, Kanpur, Delhi, Pratapgarh, Ayodhya, Gorakhpur and Tanda, among others.
Roadways porter Phoolchand says that the transport department has not yet issued rates like the railways regarding how much the roadways porter will charge from the bus passengers for carrying their luggage. “At present, we take whatever gets mutually decided. However, the formal rate list is expected to be issued soon,” he said.
These porters are prohibited from working for passengers of private bus operators functioning right outside the Civil Lines Bus stand.
