ST wheels stuck due to rains,

Lokmat News Network

Impact of heavy rainfall

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Heavy rains, excessive downpour, and flood-like situations have been reported across the state. Roads have been submerged, rivers have overflowed, and several routes have been closed to traffic. As a result, hundreds of ST bus trips had to be canceled, causing huge financial losses. In the last two months alone, the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar division of the ST Corporation has lost revenue worth ₹52 lakh.

The worst affected were the CIDCO bus station and Paithan depot. Bus services on routes connecting Pune, Beed, Solapur, Latur, Vijapur, and several others were canceled. Rural bus services have been hit the hardest.

Priority to Safety

Due to continuous rains, mud and waterlogging on major routes in several tehsils brought bus services to a standstill. In many places, bridges were overflowing with water. To ensure safe travel, many trips had to be canceled.

1,077 Trips canceled

In the last two months, excessive rainfall forced the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar division of the ST Corporation to cancel as many as 1,077 bus trips.

Passenger numbers decline

Flood-like situations across the state have discouraged people from traveling. With fewer passengers, many bus trips were canceled for lack of ridership.

Pothole damages add to losses

Heavy rains have left many roads full of potholes. Large potholes on rural roads are proving to be a fresh challenge for ST buses. This will lead to higher repair and maintenance expenses, adding further to the losses.

1.23 Lakh kilometers canceled

In the last two months, the division canceled 1,23,207 kilometers of bus travel due to heavy rains. This resulted in a loss of nearly ₹52 lakh. Passenger numbers also dropped as people avoided traveling during the rains.

— Santosh Ghane, Divisional Transport Officer

Depot-wise Losses

Depot --- Trips Canceled --- Loss

CIDCO Bus Station – 202 – ₹15,92,511

Central Bus Station – 96 – ₹5,74,699

Paithan – 245 – ₹15,45,700

Sillod – 34 – ₹1,42,597

Vaijapur – 204 – ₹5,36,470

Kannad – 104 – ₹2,81,261

Gangapur – 144 – ₹3,92,012

Soygaon – 48 – ₹2,11,349

Total – 1,077 – ₹52,76,599