Ramaji Kawde (name changed) was waiting for one-and-a-half hours at Nagpur’s Ganeshpeth Bus Stand for a bus for Bhandara. He could not board the previous bus as the crowd pushed him out a moment before it departed. This was not just Ramaji’s plight but an ordeal of all those who reached the bus stand to leave for respective destinations amid festivity. The bus stand premises was all crowded with people waiting and sweating to get a bus that would take them to their respective destinations. All were on toes. The moment a bus entered the stand, everyone would throng the already crowded bus. People were pushing each other hoping to get some space in the bus. The scene turned pitiable when people started pushing their kids into the bus from windows. Many buses were carrying passengers beyond their capacities. On Saturday, most people were travelling to celebrate Bhaubeej. Nobody was willing to miss any opportunity to board a bus to reach destination as early as possible. But the huge crowd at main bus stand was not the outcome of mere festival. Almost all depots of Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) in Vidarbha, excluding Nagpur, remained closed due to the strike called by its employees.

 

Despite the orders from High Court to call off the strike, the employees are staying put. Nagpur depot is not the part of strike so the Nagpur bus stand was witnessing large turnout of passengers. When ‘The Hitavada’ talked to some of the passengers, they experienced disappointment. A youngster was to go to Tumsar to her sister’s home. He was waiting for a bus for last two hours. Once, he had almost boarded a bus but made way for a young woman carrying baby and struggling to climb the steps. “I don’t regret. At least I helped an unknown sister on this auspicious day,” the youngster expressed. The condition was very bad at the bus stand. People standing in the premises feeling suffocated. Nobody was in a position to follow the norms of physical distancing as there was no scope to do so. Resentment was high and most people looked worried. Some were tense with a thought whether they could ever get a bus to reach their town/villages for the festival.

 

The staff of MSRTC at Nagpur found itself helpless. The depot was providing buses after every one hour, but they were not sufficient. Within five minutes, a bus was getting passengers beyond capacity. An old man said, “I am a senior citizen who can’t stand for long here. The stand has no basic amenities like fan, water. From children to women, senior citizens are going through lot of sufferings. I can understand the feelings of employees who wanted to press their demand but they chose a wrong time. Government also has taken things very lightly. They should have meet the unions and came out of a middle way. This would have saved everybody’s problem.” Hope the issue gets sorted out as early as possible. Till then, the citizens have to bear the brunt.