Ganeshotsav 2024: 10 lakh travelled to Konkan for Ganesh Chaturthi

The MSRTC ferried a record number of passengers to the Konkan this Ganesh Chaturthi. File pic/Satej Shinde

A whopping 10 to 12 lakh plus people have travelled to Konkan by public and private transport for the Ganapati festival this year as the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) and Railways organised the highest number of buses and trains this year. The ten lakh figure is just a rough estimate as there is no official documentation of how many passengers travel in general coaches, in private buses and the numbers could be higher.

"We overcame the difficulties including the strike by the employees, traffic jams and delays in this transport for the special services which was run from September 3 to 8. The ST administration has broken all the records of the last many years on the basis of proper planning and has safely transported more than two and a half lakh passengers through 5,000 buses this year. The state transport buses have departed from Mumbai, Thane and Palghar areas for their hometowns in Konkan. For this, more than 10,000 drivers-conductors, mechanical staff, guided by supervisors and officers from various depots across the state bravely faced various difficulties and carried out such a large number of passengers safely, barring minor accidents," said Dr Madhav Kusekar, vice-president and managing director of the corporation.

"The railways are operating 320 additional trains this year till the end of the festival. Between September 3 and September 9 approximately 4.5 to 5 lakh passengers have been ferried from CR trains with 2.5 lakh in reserved classes, another 50,000-70,000 from non-CR trains and about 2 lakh unreserved passengers, taking the total to around 5 lakh in a single direction," an official said.

"A train comprises eighteen coaches. In addition to these special trains, there are about 52 regular trains passing Konkan. A modest estimate takes us to the figure of over 5 lakh passengers. People start going to Konkan by the end of July itself from all parts of the country," another official said.

"As per a rough estimate of tourist buses, about 1,600 to 1,800 buses have been operated from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) this year," as per a member of Mumbai Bus Malak Sangathan (MBMS).

Private bus operators deployed 30-35 per cent more buses to Konkan after a request from the state government due to the MSRTC strike. This is in addition to the personal vehicles and private buses booked by people and community groups since the beginning of the festival," an official said.

320
Additional trains deployed for the Ganesh festival