Thousands of people working in Delhi-NCR started thronging the bus terminuses as early as the wee hours of Thursday to travel to their hometowns
Holi rush was witnessed at major bus terminuses in the Capital a day ahead of the festival. The festive rush was further accentuated because of the long weekend ahead. Inter-State bus terminuses at Kashmere Gate and Anand Vihar had a passenger spillover, helping private bus operators, plying on long routes, make hay.
Thousands of people working in Delhi-NCR started thronging the bus terminuses as early as the wee hours of Thursday to travel to their hometowns. Serpentine queues were seen outside ticket counters at Kashmere Gate from where buses ply to neighbouring states of Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and the Union Territory of Chandigarh. Buses en route different cities in these states ran to a packed capacity with some people even expressing the willingness to travel either by standing inside or sitting on the roofs.
Noisy scenes witnessed intermittently as those heading home tried to jostle their way inside already-packed buses. According to officials at ISBT, around 1,900 inter-state buses ply from ISBT daily, and around 1 lakh passengers travel from ISBT daily. The number has increased to 3,000 this week, but passengers are still finding it hard to get a seat. An official said that 300, 250 and 250 buses have been added to the existing fleet in the Haryana, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh routes, respectively to handle the festive rush.
At Anand Vihar, too, from where inter-state buses to Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand ply, crowd started swelling as early as Tuesday. Of the around the 945 buses that originate from Anand Vihar, 600 are of UP transport alone. Given the massive rush, the state has increased the number of buses to 1,000.
Meanwhile, touts of private bus operators increased their fare to accommodate those who couldn't get a seat in state-run buses. Passengers confessed to having waited for hours and being fleeced by private bus operators, too. "I waited for four hours to board a bus to Agra but couldn't. I have paid double the regular fare to a private bus operator to go home. There was no option," said Shyam Lal, who drives a private cab in Delhi.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Buses")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}