ST buses don’t leave for Konkan due to rain

MUMBAI: Around 20 persons who arrived at ST depots to go to Konkan on the first day were turned away as buses could not operate due to heavy rain and parts of Mumbai-Goa highway were affected.
There was a plan to operate 23 buses with social distancing norms but no bus left from Mumbai Central, Parel or Nehru Nagar (Kurla) depots. An MSRTC spokesperson said, “If is unfortunate we could not ply buses on the first day but we will accommodate all passengers on Thursday or whichever day they are comfortable with.”
Each bus will ferry not more than 22 passengers and will mostly travel point-to-point.Buses are being operated to Rajapur (Rs580 a ticket), Malvan (Rs730), Devgad (Rs710), Guhagar (Rs470), Khed (Rs350), Dapoli (Rs395), Ratnagiri (Rs535), Chiplun (Rs400) and other places.
The spokesperson said, “There has been heavy rain across western coast and parts of ghat section have been declared unsafe. The stretch between Lonere-Mangaon has witnessed continuous rain and the road is blocked. We do not want passengers to face hardships en route.”
MSRTC has kept 3,000 buses for group booking. But sources said many Mumbai residents have left for their villages by private vehicles. “Commuters will have to carry sanitisers, wear face masks and maintain social distancing,” an official said.
Online bookings for buses started on Tuesday evening. Passengers travelling by ST buses do not need an e-pass.