E-Paper
Shane-E-Awadh parked in muck
THERE ARE no takers for Shane-E-Awadh?the double-decker bus introduced by the UP State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) and touted as ?Awadh ki Shaan? six months ago. The bus has not only been dumped by the passengers but has also been shabbily treated by the Corporation staff.
THERE ARE no takers for Shane-E-Awadh—the double-decker bus introduced by the UP State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) and touted as ‘Awadh ki Shaan’ six months ago. The bus has not only been dumped by the passengers but has also been shabbily treated by the Corporation staff.
On Monday, the snazzy bus was parked over a wide and deep pit full of muck and dirty water below the under-construction flyover near the Polytechnic Crossing on Faizabad Road.
This was not by accident. The staff taking a nap on the top of the bus had chosen to park the vehicle at the spot. The rear wheels of the bus were totally submerged and the filth was up to the body of the bus. The bus remained there for several hours.
A look at the bus forced the passers by to ask “Does Shane-E-Awadh deserve this kind of treatment?”
Transport Minister Naresh Agrawal had flagged off the double-decker as a New Year gift to the Lucknowites in January this year. Initially, the bus was plied as a tourist vehicle taking people on a ride from the Wave multiplex to the Ambedkar Park and back. But after two-three months, the bus was removed from there due to poor response and the management started booking it for marriage parties and similar other occasions.
With the marriage season over, the management utilized the bus on the Charbagh-Polytechnic route as a passenger vehicle. But it ran mostly empty.
ARM AK Singh says the bus makes two trips everyday — one it the morning and then in evening. He admits that the response to the bus has not been good and attributed it to the flat fare being charged irrespective of the distance. He said, he would question the staff about parking the bus in filth and take action accordingly.
