Ahead of the Ganesh festival, the state government said Thursday that it will develop a separate portal to issue electronic passes to people traveling to their hometowns in the Konkan region in private vehicles. The state’s transport minister, Anil Parab, also met with transport and police officials to discuss the problems people are facing in obtaining electronic passes, among others.
“There were several complaints from people saying there was no response to their electronic pass requests or that the requests were being rejected. So the police have been instructed to set up a separate portal for people who will travel by private vehicles to Konkan for the Ganesh festival, ”Parab said after the meeting. The minister said that efforts were also being made to launch the portal in a day or two.
Two days ago, the state government had announced that people who wanted to travel to the Konkan region for the festival could board the state buses without mandatory electronic passes for interdistrict movement.. However, people traveling in private vehicles would require electronic passes, he said.
The government had also urged people who want to travel to Konkan to get there before August 12 and remain in home quarantine for 10 days. Those traveling after Aug. 12, he said, would need to be tested for the virus 48 hours before the trip and only those who test negative would be allowed to travel.
Thousands of people living in Mumbai and its suburbs travel to their hometowns in the Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts in the Konkan region each year during the festival, which will begin on August 22 this year. With various restrictions on movement between districts due to the Covid-19 pandemic, people in the region, where the Shiv Sena has a strong presence, had demanded some relaxations.
On Thursday, Parab also reviewed the traffic problems people face while traveling to Konkan. “The process to verify electronic passes on major highways slows down the movement of traffic. So, instructions have been given to verify electronic passes within the villages so that the movement of traffic is not affected, ”he said.
MSRTC starts bus service to Konkan
Twenty-two Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) buses left for Konkan on Thursday ahead of Ganesh Chaturthi. The service was expected to start from Wednesday but was suspended due to heavy rains.
MSRTC will run point-to-point services from the main bus stations in Mumbai, Pune, and Palghar to the districts or talukas in the region. The corporation will operate 400 buses between August 6 and 12 and so far has received reservations for 3,000 people. The highest reservations have been made for August 11 and 12, when the corporation will operate 150 buses.
“We allow reservations for a group of 22 people. Individual tickets must be taken even in the case of group reservations. Those who opt for group reservations will be taken to their villages, ”said an MSRTC spokesperson.
Private operators have also started hauling passengers as of July 27, with nearly 30 buses leaving Mumbai every day. Harsh Kotak of Mumbai Bus Chalak Malak Sanghatna said e-passes are mandatory for traveling between districts by private buses. “The government is clearly giving an advance to its corporation, while private bus operators are struggling to obtain electronic passes,” he said.
Kotak said that only a handful of the total 38,000 buses in the MMR region worked as e-passes require all taxes and documents to be up to date. “The rules imposed by the government have severely affected the private operators who hoped to compensate their losses during the festival session,” he added.
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