Haryana Roadways seeks to restart 12 interstate routes, five of them from Gurugram

The Haryana government has written to the transport departments of at least six states and two union territories, seeking their consent to start interstate bus services

The Haryana government has written to the transport departments of at least six states and two union territories, seeking their consent to start interstate bus services on 12 select routes. Five of these routes will begin in Gurugram while one will begin in Faridabad, according to official communications seen by Hindustan Times.

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From Gurugram, routes to Aligarh and Mathura in Uttar Pradesh, Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, Jaipur in Rajasthan and Chandigarh, are set to become operational as soon as a go-ahead is received from the recipient states. Similarly, one route from Faridabad to Aligarh is also slated to resume.

Anu Sheokhand, Haryana Roadways’ general manager in Gurugram, said, “Gurugram is one of Haryana’s busiest transit hubs; its passenger volume is almost the same as Sonepat, which is the busiest hub in the state. I cannot comment on why certain routes have been chosen, but Gurugram is a strategic location as far as interstate travel is concerned, given its proximity to arterial highways and state borders.”

However, a senior official of the Haryana Roadways, based in Gurugram, said, “As per the MHA order, the mutual consent of states is required for interstate travel. We want to start buses from Gurugram to MP, UP and Rajasthan as we receive a lot of migrants from these areas. The availability of commercial buses will help them to either leave the state or come back to work, with industries being allowed to start operations again.”

The official, seeking anonymity, stated that these commercial buses would accept only online bookings, to ensure social distancing between conductors and passengers. “The frequency of the buses will also be low. Just one or two buses per day, with early departure. Passengers will be thermal screened multiple times on the journey, particularly at state borders,” the official said, adding that all passengers would need to secure e-passes for interstate travel to avail the bus service.

This move, to resume bus travel to various states, comes on the heels of chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar’s announcement on Monday that interstate bus travel to and from Haryana will resume soon. A letter to this effect was written by the principal secretary (transport), Haryana, to the governments of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, UP, MP, Uttarakhand, Delhi and Chandigarh on Monday.

The other routes which have been slated for resumption include Delhi-Panchkula, Ambala-Shimla, Ambala-Dehradun, Hisar-Ajmer, Panipat-Bareilly, and Karnal-Amritsar.