Pimpri: Thousands of employees working in government departments, agencies and private companies are commuting from Pune to Mumbai daily from the Pune city, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Talegaon and Lonavala areas. But since the railway and bus service is not available due to lockdown measures, they have to put their lives in danger while traveling by road on two wheelers and four wheelers every day. The financial stress of commuting this way and the fear of job loss, has taken a toll on the mental and physical health of these employees too.
The state government has asked its employees for once a week attendance from June 1. In some departments, almost 50 to 75 per cent of the staff strength has been asked to report to the office, but the train and bus service has not yet started. Private cab services are also not functional. Hence, these employees have to travel by their own vehicles to the office. Some male employees are doing it, but for women employees it is too unsafe and unhealthy. Hence there is a demand to at least start the bus service between the two cities.
"I travel 200 kilometres every day from Akurdi to Mumbai. We are four of us and use carpooling service. I used to travel by Sahyadri Express every day and I felt safe by train. But by road in a car, I don't feel safe especially now when the rains have started,” a passenger from Akurdi said.
A woman passenger from Vimannagar said, "I travel from Vimannagar in Pune to BMC in Mumbai. Earlier I used to take the Deccan Queen at 6 am every day. I have two children and for the last three months I managed to balance work by taking leaves. I have the option of travel by private vehicles, but good food and clean toilets are not available by road. So women have to face a lot of trouble."
Manoj Zanwar, Public Relations Officer, Western Railway, said, "The number of passengers who use Pragati, Deccan, Sinhagad and Intercity Express for commuting to and fro Pune, Mumbai is very large. In the 12 trips that are scheduled daily, the trains are fully occupied. Around 1500 passengers travel through the train at one time. The decision to start local and other trains will be taken by the central government and we have to wait for it."
