Passengers cry foul over poor condition of ST stands in Pune division

Being in the heart of the city, droves of passengers travel from these stands daily but the stand premises lack maintenance

At a time when chief minister Eknath Shinde, along with other ministers, on Saturday inaugurated the new ST stand at Baramati equipped with modern amenities for passengers, existing ST stands in Pune at Swargate, Wakdewadi and Pune Railway Station continue to be in poor condition despite passengers repeatedly complaining about the same.

The ST stand at Swargate is the main one and the biggest in the Pune MSRTC division in terms of area as compared to other stands. (HT PHOTO)

The ST stand at Swargate is the main one and the biggest in the Pune MSRTC division in terms of area as compared to other stands. Daily, more than 10,000 passengers travel from this stand towards the Bangalore highway, Solapur highway and Mumbai along various routes. The main building of the stand comprises 10 small platforms and a waiting area for passengers but it does not have adequate benches and cleanliness is not maintained. There are many broken footpaths and benches all around the stand premises. “I often travel from the Swargate ST stand and a major problem at the stand is of two- and four- wheelers entering and making it difficult for buses to move around. There are no traffic police at the stand to control private vehicles passing through the stand,” said Amit Dengale, one of the passengers.

While at the Wakdewadi ST stand, there is a multitude of problems including potholes, leaking roofs, broken footpaths and stray dogs roaming around the stand. It is the second major stand in the city from which buses run on the Ahmednagar, Mumbai-Pune and other routes. As many as 5,000 passengers travel from this stand regularly.

Being in the heart of the city, droves of passengers travel from these stands daily but the stand premises lack maintenance. Sagar Chintal, a passenger at the stand, said, “I travel with my family and children and it is really embarrassing to go to a stand which is full of garbage and not cleaned regularly. To add to this, stray dogs are roaming around. The MSRTC administration should think of the passengers’ safety first.”

Kailash Patil, MSRTC Pune divisional controller, said, “The maintenance and repair work goes on at all stands across the division. Still, we will run a check and maintenance works will be carried out at the Swargate and Wakdewadi ST stands.”