Private Buses reduce trips due to pathetic ATR; Passengers in limbo

DJ Venkatesh
Diglipur, Nov 19: About 500 daily passengers, who were travelling through ATR road by various private buses, are now in a pickle as majority of the private bus operators have withdrawn their buses from ATR in Port Blair-Diglipur –Port Blair sector.
Since last few days, out of eight daily buses only three buses are being operated in ATR, as all other buses are either damaged or have been grounded because of the pathetic condition of the ATR. All three Geetanjali buses, which used to start from Diglipur at 5 AM, 7 AM, 10 PM, SS Transport’s 10.30 PM bus, Anand’s 7 AM bus are off the road now withdrawn. Only SS Transport’s 7 AM bus and Anand’s 7 AM bus & 10 PM buses are presently operating in this sector that too without any guarantee.
Passengers of remote villages are badly hit by this as these buses not only provide crucial service for people of Diglipur Island but also Islanders of entire Middle and North Andaman.
Speaking to Andaman Sheekha, one of the bus operators said that due to bad roads majority of buses have suffered heavy damages and buses, which are on road, are always running late.
Often buses reach very late to their respective destinations and the next day theses bus need repairs due to this the bus routine is disturbed and ultimately bus owners and ticket sellers have to facing passengers’ ire. The Bus Operator added that the repairing costs are so high that the income from cargo fares are also not supplementing.
Meanwhile the STS started night bus thrice a week but as STS buses are too ordinary, people mostly avoid STS bus for long journey. Now STS has also reduced the number of trips of Night Bus from three to two days a week.
As present most of the tickets for next week are already sold out, due to weeklong holidays and because of this normal passengers and other emergency passengers are now in a limbo as to how to travel Port Blair and other Islands. Hope the administration will find some remedy for this situation and provide some of vessels for Diglipur for these busy weeks. The Administration must also pressurize the NHIDCL to repair ATR immediately in Middle Andaman region.