Commuters hit as buses deployed for AAP rally

Jalandhar, February 10

A large number of commuters, who were to board a bus to travel homewards on the weekend, were a harried lot today as almost all 70 buses of the Jalandhar depot of Punjab Roadways and PRTC were taken by the state government for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) rally in Khanna.

Since there was not even a single government-run bus and private operators could ply buses only as per the timetable, commuters had a tough time catching a bus.

There was a huge rush at the counters for Chandigarh, Mohali, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Pathankot, Ropar and Nawanshahr. The waiting time to board a bus spanned for over one hour.

Anmol, a student of a local college, said: “My classes got over at 2 pm and I reached here to board a bus to my place in Mohali. There was not a single bus here. I thought that there was a strike. Later, I came to know that all buses have been deployed for a government rally. So, I had to wait for 45 minutes to board a private bus. The bus started at 4 pm and I reached my destination after 7:30 pm. It was a long day for me”.

Women passengers missed the usual free bus ride. Satwant Kaur, who is a bank employee here and resides in Patiala, said: “I get a free bus ride between Jalandhar and Patiala. Today, I had to shell out Rs 215 for the only Volvo bus available and it really pinched me.”