Sunday outings cancelled, commuters suffer

PUNE: Commuters had a harrowing time moving within and outside the city on Sunday.
With lakhs of Maratha protestors gathering in the city on Sunday, police closed down important lanes like JM Road, FC Road, Tilak Road and Karve Road till the end of the silent protest march which culminated at the Council Hall in the afternoon.
Even the bus service of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) from Pune station, Shivajinagar and Swargate faced delays.
The closures led to fleecing of passengers in some areas, especially outside the railway station and at ST stands.
MSRTC officials told TOI that Shivneri bus operations from Pune station remained suspended for almost eight hours since Sunday morning and were operated from Aundh and Wakad instead. The AC Shivneri buses leaving from Swargate were re-routed from Mhatre bridge instead of Deccan Gymkhana. The buses scheduled to travel via Ahmednagar and Nashik highways also witnessed delays because of the rally.
A prepaid autorickshaw booth at the Pune railway station was shut till afternoon too. Mahesh Rajgopal, a commuter, said he had to wait outside the station for almost three hours. "There was not a single autorickshaw in the vicinity. After waiting for hours, I had to finally call up my friend to pick me up," he added.
Vijay Rana, who had travelled from Yerawada to go to a hospital in Rasta Peth, was stuck at Pune station. "I wanted to reach the hospital, but there was no road open for vehicles from Pune station," Vijay said, adding that he had to park his bike near Kumbharwada and walked till the hospital from there.
Sujata Maheshwari, a resident of Tadiwala Road, said her family had to drop the plan for a quite lunch at a hotel on Tilak Road owing to the protest rally. "Most of the streets were jam packed, leaving no space for commuters to manoeuvre around," Maheshwari said.
Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) officials said many buses scheduled across the city were re-routed leading to increase in travel time for most commuters. The buses running to areas like Pimpri Chinchwad, Wagholi, Vadgaonhseri, Chandni Chowk were overcrowded.
A field day for auto drivers
# Commuters at railway stations, ST stands faced hardships in getting autorickshaws with complaints of inflated fares demanded by the drivers
# MSRTC Shivneri buses re-routed
# Highways including Solapur Road, Nashik Road and Ahmednagar Road witnessed heavy traffic of agitators
# Prepaid booth at Pune station was shut
# PMPML buses witnessed major re-routing of its vehicles