Bikaner: 120 Roadways Buses Ferry Over 25,000 Women for Free

Bikaner: On the occasion of Rakshabandhan, Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma's announcement to provide free travel to women in Roadways buses led to a massive rush of female passengers on Monday. According to estimates, around 120 Roadways buses operated in the Bikaner district, ferrying thousands of women.

Buses were packed with 95-100% female passengers, with many buses running at full capacity. The Bikaner Roadways Depot has 85 buses, including 29 contract buses. From 12 am on Sunday, all Roadways buses started providing free travel to women.

In addition to Bikaner, buses from Sikar, Nagaur, Jaipur, Hanumangarh, Sri Ganganagar, Jalore, Kota, Jaisalmer, Falodi, Jodhpur, Ajmer, Alwar, and Bhilwara also arrived in the city.

Seven Special Buses Operated

To facilitate sisters travelling to their brothers' homes on Rakshabandhan, seven special buses were operated. These buses were scheduled to run from Jaipur at 6:30 am, Khajuwal at 6:30 am, Nokha at 5:30 am and 6:30 am, Khajuwal at 2 pm, Nagaur at 6:30 am, and Lunkaransar at 5:30 pm.

Due to the high demand, an additional bus was operated from Jalore to Nokha, and another bus was sent to Kolayat in the evening.

Over 3,000 Buses in the State

According to a senior Roadways official, over 3,000 Roadways buses are operating in the state. In Bikaner district, around 120 express and ordinary Roadways buses provided free travel to women. It is estimated that over 25,000 women availed of the free travel facility on Monday.

Rush of Commuters on Rakshabandhan

Bikaner has around 25-30 thousand people working in other districts and states. With Rakshabandhan being a holiday, people were returning to their homes, leading to a huge rush of commuters at the Roadways bus stand. The free travel facility for women also attracted a large number of female passengers, who arrived at the bus stand much earlier than usual.