Duality of GSRTC: Free rides in govt events, high fares for devotees
Guj govt criticised for increasing the fare of buses during Bhadravi Poonam festival
Updated: Sep 18th, 2024
The recent Bhadravi Purnima festival at the Ambaji temple has highlighted a strike disparity between the government’s treatment of its leaders during state-sponsored programmes and the general public.
While the government actively promotes Hindu values and benefits financially from the influx of devotees during religious festivals such as Bhadarvi Purnima in Ambaji, it has been criticised for charging high fares for temple visits while providing free transportation for its own events at the same time.
In Ambaji, the GSRTC (Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation) buses increased bus fares from ₹13 to ₹20 during the fair, drawing widespread criticism from devotees.
Despite a reduction of ₹5 in fares following public outcry, the net increase in fares of ₹15 still burdened pilgrims. According to sources, the corporation has reportedly earned ₹50 lakh from the fare hike, underscoring the government’s financial interest in religious tourism.
The government has faced criticism for leveraging these ST buses to amass large crowds for its programmes while failing to fully settle the associated costs.
The BJP government has rented 34,614 buses for its various programmes in last year. For this, ₹56.01 crore have been paid to GSRTC, however, a payment of ₹53.81 crore still remains to be paid.
This dual approach, where the government prioritises its events and people while neglecting the needs of the general public, has raised concerns about its priorities.
Similarly in Ahmedabad, the AMTS (Amdavad Municipal Transportation Service) bus service has taken a loan of ₹350 crores from Amdavad Municipal Corporation. Now to repay the loan AMC has diverted the AMTS buses for government programmes to help repayment of loans which is causing inconvenience to daily commuters.
During a recent BJP event at GMDC, hundreds of buses were deployed, leading to disruptions in routine bus services.
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