Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
New Delhi
The exodus of hordes of people from Delhi to different parts of the Uttar Pradesh many of whom set off to trudge hundreds of kilometres to be back home, forced the authorities to run some buses to transport them.
After social media poured scorn over the apathy of authorities for not caring for the poor and marginalised while deputing special planes to ferry Indians stuck overseas, authorities in the State began plying buses from different terminals of Kaushambi near Ghaziabad and Noida onto Kanpur and Lucknow.
However, the buses were not meant to reach everyone out as The Tribune found out at Kaushambi where a number of families were stuck. “We are here since morning and. There is no bus to Hardoi,” said Rajaram who walked from neighboring Maharajpur Border with his family in tow.
Sumit, with a family and close relatives, too, wanted to go to Hardoi and waited amid conflicting views whether they should brave it out 380-km walk with three children, some foodstuff in their bags. “There is no work here and I do odd jobs to support my family…have no money left better to go home…,” he said looking uncertain as others said may be they wait till evening and return to their tenement in Delhi.
Well Kapil and Rohit were fortunate to get on to a bus that promises to drop them to Moradabad from where Rohit hopes to get some transport to Chandausi, some 50 km away.
District authorities maintained they had received orders well past midnight to depute some 200-old buses from three depots and many had been transported since the wee hours of Saturday.
Understandably, they were reluctant to make any announcement lest it trigger more people to venture out, defeating the purpose of lock-down and norm of social distancing.
