Maharashtra Govt Allows MSRTC To Resume Inter-District Bus Services, But With Certain Conditions

Passengers would not require an e-pass, permission or approval for inter-district travel in the MSRTC buses, but the transport undertaking will issue standard operating procedures for such travel.

(Representative Image/ Getty)

Mumbai: In a bid to further ease the lockdown imposed due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, the Maharashtra government on Wednesday resumed State Transport (ST) services for intra-state travel. State transport travel has been allowed in Maharashtra which means, it will now be possible for people to travel from one district to another by ST buses. ALSO READ | Coronavirus: India Records Steep Spike Of Over 64K New Cases After 5 Days Of Downward Trend | Check State-Wise Data After the announcement, passengers would no longer need to take permission or procure e-pass for movement by the administration. However, it is to be noted that passengers will be required to abide by certain terms and conditions during ST travel. As per state government's directive, passengers would not require an e-pass, permission or approval for inter-district travel in the MSRTC buses, but the transport undertaking will issue standard operating procedures for such travel. "The state government has allowed to re-start inter- district bus operations, and we are planning resume the services from tomorrow," MSRTC''s Vice Chairman and Managing Director Shekhar Channe told news agency PTI. After the lockdown was enforced in the state following the outbreak of COVID-19 in March, inter-district bus operations of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) were suspended. Even after lockdown announcement, ST services were still running for essential service personnel in Mumbai division. With a fleet of over 18,000 buses and nearly one lakh workforce, MSRTC is one of the biggest state road transport corporations in the county. Before the outbreak of Covid-19, over 65 lakh passengers used to travel daily in MSRTC buses. Meanwhile, Maharashtra set a new record with 422 Covid-19 deaths in a single day - surpassing the previous peak of 413 recorded on August 13 - health officials said on Tuesday. The state recorded a high of 11,119 new cases -- down from the previous highest of 12,822 till August 8. With 422 fatalities, the state toll rose to 20,687 and the number of cases spiked to 6,15,477 -- both highest in the country. Of 422 fatalities, Pune again topped the list with 89 deaths, followed by 61 in Raigad, 49 each in Mumbai and Thane, and 34 in Nagpur in the higher bracket. Besides, there were 17 deaths each in Nashik and Ahmednagar, 16 in Kolhapur, 13 in Solapur, 11 each in Jalgaon, Satara and Sangli, in the middle range.