Maratha Reservation Protests Paralyze ST Buses, Sparks Commuter Chaos In Pune And Pimpri Chinchwad
Pune, 2nd November 2023: The ongoing Maratha reservation agitation wreaked havoc on Wednesday as half of the State Transport (ST) buses across Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad were canceled. The disruption in services to Western Maharashtra, Marathwada, Vidarbha, and Khandesh left passengers grappling with significant inconvenience. The financial toll on ST was palpable, with Wednesday’s cancellations resulting in a revenue loss of Rs 33.27 lakhs.
“In adherence to the instructions of local police amidst the Maratha reservation agitation, ST buses are not dispatched to areas of unrest. Half of the buses traversing the state in the Pune division were canceled on Wednesday,” stated Kailas Patil, Divisional Controller of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC).
ST buses, originating from key points such as Swargate, Shivajinagar (Wakdewadi), Pune station, and Vallabhnagar depot (Pimpri-Chinchwad), play a vital role in daily commuting. Out of the 1,229 buses released from Pune every day, the escalation of the Maratha reservation movement compelled the administration to cancel a total of 614 buses on Wednesday, causing 84,941 km rounds to remain incomplete. This cancellation translated into a substantial financial setback for ST.
The impact of the Maratha reservation protests reverberated primarily in bus services from Swargate depot to West Maharashtra and Konkan, as well as from Shivajinagar (Wakdewadi) depot to Marathwada. Popular destinations like Kolhapur, Sangli, Solapur, Pandharpur, Satara, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Ahmednagar, Beed, Jalna, Latur, Nagpur, Amravati, Akola, and Jalgaon witnessed cancellations. The cancellation of ST buses on the eve of Diwali has compounded the inconvenience for passengers.
