More than 280 buses sent from Meerut region to transport migrants

MEERUT: The Meerut regional office of state roadways transport has used more than 280 buses in the past two days to commute migrants to their destinations from Anand Vihar and Kaushambi bus stations.

Thousands of migrants had gathered at Anand Vihar and Kaushambi bus stations on Monday evening after the declaration of a lockdown in Delhi.

In a recapitulation of scenes reminiscent of last year, migrants collected at these depots, desperate to return to their native villages and towns, some accompanied by family members.

K K Sharma, regional manager, Meerut, UPSRTC, said, “We started our preparations soon after the declaration of lockdown in Delhi. As anticipated, a heavy influx of migrants had descended at Anand Vihar bus station in Ghaziabad, by the evening.”

Sharma said that on Monday he directed 169 buses be sent to Anand Vihar and 115 more buses were sent from different depots on Tuesday.

Sharma said that buses with two drivers will commute the migrants to long destinations like Gorakhpur and Azamgarh while the buses with single drivers have been directed to ply to nearby destinations like Mainpuri, Etah and others.

He said that it was indeed difficult to arrange buses during the ongoing panchayat election as many buses are already occupied for elections and the depots also face a crisis of stock of batteries and tyres since previous year’s lockdown.

He anticipated that more migrants may come out on streets if lockdown in Delhi extends after the declared dates. “We are keeping ourselves ready to deal with such a situation,” he said.