This Ganpati festival, 2,500 more ST buses to be made available

MSRTC buses parked in a depot at Thane. MSRTC bus services were badly impacted by the pandemic-induced lockdown and the strike by the employees. File pic

In its first major operation since the Covid-19 pandemic and strike, as many as 2,500 additional ST buses will run in the state for Ganpati festival. Reservations and bookings for the buses began from Saturday and the special buses will leave for Konkan from depots across Maharashtra between August 25 and 31 and return between September 5 and 11. The booking for the return journey will begin from July 5. A Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) spokesperson said that ticket bookings could be done physically, online, through mobile app or agents.

Every year, lakhs of people travel to their hometowns and villages in Konkan from Mumbai, Pune and other urban hubs for the Ganpati festival. MSRTC, one of the country's biggest bus fleets with over 17,000 buses, traditionally organises a large number of buses during Ganpati festival in Konkan every year. In the first phase, 1,300 buses will be made available for reservation. These extra buses will be released from major bus stands in Mumbai, Thane and Palghar divisions.

"We have set up repair tents and garages across the routes for our buses that would be travelling in large numbers. In addition, staff will be posted round the clock with spares and all requirements. For bus passengers, temporary public toilets and refreshment rooms have also been arranged. The buses would stop only at designated halts identified by the MSRTC for water/food and toilet along the route," the spokesperson added.

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1,300
No of MSRTC buses to be available for reservation in the first phase