Massive Passenger Crowd at Delhi Anand Vihar Bus Terminus during nationwide Lockdown

Due to misinformation and  lack of co-ordination between Delhi, UP, Uttarakhand State Governments, Delhi Anand Vihar Bus terminal which was flooded on the 28th March 2020 with thousands and thousands of migrant workers, could not board buses back to their respective towns and villages. While some walked down to the bus terminal, some others came by the buses provided by Delhi Government. In view of sudden influx of passengers, the UP Government could provide 1000 buses initially and even Uttakhand Government also had come to the rescue of these stranded migrants labourers.

The UP Government Transport Corporation had started plying 200 special buses to provide transport facilities to people stuck at various places in the border areas with Delhi.  At every 2 hours from 8 am onwards, around 200 buses were deployed every 2 hours to help the stranded migrants to reach their respective places.

Kejriwal Government’s 234 night shelters and 35 community halls were made use of to accommodate these migrants. Further Kejriwal Government had distributed food in more than 500 school premises which would be turned into shelters.

Though Kejriwal Government had provided free bus services to ferry migrants to Anand Vihar Bus Terminus without knowing that there were not enough buses to take them to their destinations resulting in heavy unprecedented crowd at the bus terminus creating chaos, stampede like situations and shortage of food and even water. 

In view of these alarming position, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia urged migrants to adhere to the lockdown for their own safety and stayed for long hours at the Delhi-UP border trying to convince people to stay back.

With the lockdown in force, one could just imagine how much difficulty it would be to co-ordinate logistics for shelter, food, water etc. and to see those who wanted to go to their native places were transported safely in an orderly manner.

Delhi Police had booked 44 Delhi Transport Corporation bus drivers for carrying migrant labourers on 29th March 2020 which had resulted in the crowding of migrants at Anand Vihar Bus Terminus and it was a different matter that these would take its own course.

E-Touch wants to honour Delhi Local Government’s Deputy Chief Minister Sisodia and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for their quick and timely action to clear the passengers. With lockdown in full force, one should realize how much difficult it would be to mobilize sufficient drivers, conductors, buses, fuel etc.

Some pictures at the site are published here under which speaks volumes how Kejriwal and Yogi Adityanath Governments could seize of the serious situations without delay and had avoided stampedes, deaths etc.