Risk at 4.30am: How UP Roadways drivers steer through fog; demand for urgent fixes grows | Noida News
NOIDA: Driving an early morning bus from Noida to Agra at this time of the year is partly guesswork for Manish Kumar. “We usually leave the depot at 5 am and reach Agra by 9 am. There is thick fog on the way and navigating becomes extremely difficult,” he said.The city is wrapped in thick blanket of smog, particularly during early morning and late night and visibility drops sharply across the region. On Monday, it remained between 50m and 200m. Bus drivers risk their lives and move through the dense fog to take the early morning passengers to their destinations.
The Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation’s (UPSRTC) Noida depot runs 188 buses connecting Noida with neighbouring districts such as Ghaziabad, Bulandshahr, Meerut, Agra and Aligarh besides operating on long-distance routes to Lucknow and Dehradun. With a crew of nearly 500 drivers and conductors, they ferry nearly 35,000 commuters daily. Nearly 150 buses ply between the Greater Noida depot to neighbouring areas like Meerut, Agra, Bulandshahr, Mathura, Aligarh, Lucknow, Hathras, Hapur, Bareilly, Badaun, Shamli, Dadri and Jewar.Despite the hazardous conditions, drivers say not turning up for work is not an option. They are paid about Rs 2 per kilometre and skipping trips would directly impact their earnings. “We are contractual employees. If we drive less, we get paid less,” said a driver.A bus conductor at the Noida depot, Aditya, recalled witnessing the massive pile-up near Mathura about two weeks ago. “Thirteen people were killed and many were injured in that accident. Visibility is very poor but we have to do our duty,” he said.The assistant regional manager of UPSRTC Noida, Rohtash Singh, said the depot ensured that all buses are equipped with fog lights, wipers and indicators. He added that drivers and conductors have been sensitised to maintain speed limits and follow traffic rules. “Night services from Noida to Lucknow have been temporarily suspended due to fog-related risks,” he said.The situation is aggravated by inadequate lighting on the expressway, say bus drivers and operators. The general secretary of Delhi Interstate Bus Operators Sangh, Shyam Lal Gola, said hundreds of luxury buses ply between Delhi and Uttar Pradesh and other states face similar issues. “We found that lighting systems on the Yamuna Expressway and other e-ways are not good and ineffective during fog and inclement weather. This needs urgent improvement,” he said. At times, when a vehicle breaks down on the expressway, the towing vehicle arrives several hours late, he added. Ghaziabad has a fleet of 1,084 UPSRTC buses running from its eight depots, including Kaushambi, Loni, Sahibabad, etc. to different districts of the state. The depot has nearly 4,000 drivers and conductors and handles nearly one lakh commuters daily.The regional manager of UPSRTC Ghaziabad, Kesri Nandan, said all drivers and conductors have been advised to ensure the speed limit remains below 50 kmph during winter. “They have been advised not to park on the roadside. Reflective tapes have also been pasted on the buses for better visibility,” he said.
