The Maharashtra government, on Saturday, sanctioned Rs 21 crore to transport people stranded in various districts to their respective home districts by nearly 10,000 Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) buses. The government will also facilitate the transportation of people from other states using these buses up to their stand boundary. They will be able to avail this facility free of cost.
Chief Secretary Ajoy Mehta issued a notification saying that the buses will operate between May 9 and May 17. The government notification came three days after the Minister of Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Vijay Wadettiwar announced that nearly 10,000 MSRTC buses will be deployed to transport stranded people in various districts. FPJ had reported that Wadettiwar had expressed that his department will bear the cost involved in it.
Minister of Transport Anil Parab, on Saturday, said that the bus service will be point to point and there will be no halts in between. All the buses will be sanitised and they can be stopped for fuelling or for the passengers to attend to nature's call at the bus depots only. He suggested that the stranded people must carry their food and they will be given entry into buses after thermal screening and medical check up.
Parab said the transportation will be done by adhering to strict norms by the people availing this facility. There will be a group booking of 22 travellers or individual booking. He clarified that the people from the containment area and red zone will not be permitted to travel.
The minister appealed to the people not to gather at the police station or on the road, as the government is resolved to facilitate movement of all those who are stranded. However, stranded persons will have to submit their application with the district collector or tehsildar with a request to the destination of the district. After receiving approval from the respective district collector, their request will be approved and they will be allowed to board the buses.
