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