Pune: The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) Bus Stand at Swargate in Pune has been left under severe mismanagement and unhygienic conditions. Being one of the busiest transit hubs in the nation, Swargate Bus Stand, being in a dilapidated condition, has caused immense inconvenience to thousands of commuters on a daily basis.
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The condition is so severe, residents themselves have reported broken chairs, damaged floor tiles, a lack of clean drinking water on the bus stand, a shortage of dustbins, and unhygienic food stalls. All this has turned the Swargate Bus Stand premises into a nightmare for passengers.
Adding to the frustration, several stall vendors are allegedly refusing to sell the government-mandated ₹10 water bottle, deliberately pushing commuters to buy ₹20 bottles to earn extra profit.
Rupesh Baghel, a regular commuter from Satara who comes to Swargate frequently, told The Free Press Journal, “The steel chairs have been broken, and many of them have no sitting place. Many food operators are providing unhygienic food to the passengers; the authorities never take action against them. We have never heard about a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) raid on such stalls situated in the premises or outside the premises.”
Sunita Pawar, another passenger who was waiting with her children for a Kolhapur bus, alleged, “There is not even free and clean drinking water available at the stand. The licensed stall inside the Swargate Bus Stand premises has its own dictatorship. Passengers could not get small water bottles. All stall owners have the same modus operandi, and they sell 1-litre bottles. Who is monitoring all this? ”
Another commuter, Shreyash More, highlighted that the shortage of dustbins has made matters worse. “With nowhere to dispose of waste, garbage has started piling up in the open spaces of the waiting area. People can see trash everywhere because there are hardly any dustbins. People have no choice but to throw waste around. The authorities need to wake up,” said More.
Vishwas Shetty, a local resident, said, “The administration should maintain at least these basic facilities. The whole matter of redevelopment has been put in the cold bag. It is not necessary that the whole area should be renovated at the same time. These are basic facilities which should be maintained. The passengers have a right to get a good place to sit while waiting. Most of the passengers used to sit under the tree or on the floor due to the unavailability of enough chairs and space.”
The Free Press Journal tried to contact Arun Siya, who is the Divisional Controller of the Pune Division of MSRTC, but he was not available to comment on the issue.
