Diwali rush from Pune to home towns as private bus operators raise return fares

Large crowds of passengers are leaving Pune for their home towns to celebrate Diwali, and Chhath Puja that follows, with their families. Given the growing pressure, the railway administration and the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (ST) have planned hundreds of additional trips.

Even so, tickets have sold out on many routes, forcing passengers to opt for the costlier choice of private buses. On top of this, private operators have pushed return fares sky-high, placing a heavy burden on ordinary travellers heading home for the festival.

A large number of passengers are travelling to north India for Chhath Puja, which is celebrated with great fervour there along with Diwali. Waiting lists have grown on the regular trains on the Pune-Danapur, Pune-Gorakhpur and Pune-Ahmedabad routes, so passengers are pinning their hopes on special trains.

The railway administration has planned a total of 468 special trips to deal with the crowd. To ease the pressure on Pune station, Central Railway has arranged for more than 90 of these to run from the suburban stations of Hadapsar and Khadki.

The number of passengers choosing to fly for long distances and quick journeys is also at a record level this time. Delhi currently has the most flights from Pune International Airport. With its capacity to handle passengers having increased, as at a new terminal, the airport administration has taken special care to avoid rushing and inconvenience for passengers during peak hours. The number of check-in counters has been increased to save passengers' time.

The ST corporation has also geared up for the festival and put more than 1,200 additional ordinary and air-conditioned buses on the roads. Heavy crowds are seen at Swargate bus station of passengers heading towards Solapur, Kolhapur, Pandharpur and Tuljapur in western Maharashtra.

For passengers going to Beed, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Jalna, Amravati and Nagpur routes in Marathwada and Vidarbha, Wakdewadi (Shivajinagar) station has become the main hub.