4L diamond workers apply to go to Saurashtra

Surat: As mas exodus of diamond workers begins from Surat, the state-run Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation's (GSRTC) is facing an uphill task.
This is because as many as 4 lakh people, majority of them diamond workers and merchants, have submitted online application with the GSRTC for booking buses in the last two days.
If the figures provided by the Surat Diamond Association (SDA) is anything to go by, then whooping 12,000 applications have been received in last two days.Considering 30 passengers per application—GSRTC is taking bus bookings in the lot of 30 passenger per bus— 3.60 lakh people have applied for the GSRTC buses to go to Saurashtra and North Gujarat towns.
Official sources said that 1,800 bookings have been confirmed and 55,000 diamond workers are expected to travel from Surat to different districts of Saurashtra region over the next two days.
After the district administration approved the intrastate travel for workers from Wednesday, the GSRTC has operated 205 buses from Surat till date. About 90% of the buses were bound to Amreli and Bhavnagar, while the rest were operated towards Botad, Junagadh, Mehsana, Patan and Devbhoomi Dwarka.
Talking with TOI, GSRTC’s divisional controller, Sanjay Joshi said, “There is a heavy rush of passengers towards Saurashtra. About 1,800 bookings have been confirmed, majority towards Amreli and Bhavnagar. As per the protocol and guidelines, we are allowing only 30 passengers per bus with capacity of 60. About 55,000 people are expected to travel in the next few days.”
Joshi stated that 350 buses left for Amreli and Bhavnagar on Friday ferrying about 9,000 passengers.
Explaining the booking process, Joshi said that the buses are booked by the group leaders and that they have to submit the names, address and identity cards of the co-passengers. Once the booking is confirmed, the buses are sent at the location mentioned in the booking form to pick up the passengers after their medical screening.
Joshi said, “The buses are operated 24x7 to cater the huge travel demand of the people from Saurashtra”
President of Surat Diamond Association, Babu Kathiriya said, “In the early days of lockdown, about 1.5 lakh people from Varachha and Katargam have already reached their hometowns. We are expecting about 8 lakh to reach Saurashtra before the lockdown ends on May 17.”