More than 8.77 lakh use Pune Metro services for Ganapati darshan over the weekend
Pune: Metro services witnessed a significant rush over the weekend, with ridership rising to 8.77 lakh. Saturday recorded a footfall of 4.78 lakh, while 3.98 lakh commuters opted for Metro services on Sunday to reach Ganesh pandals in central areas.
The Metro administration said daily ridership has remained above three lakh for the last five consecutive days and is likely to remain at a similar level until immersion day.
Stations that have recorded a significant rise in daily footfall include Mandai, Civil Court and Kasba Peth, as well as originating stations such as Vanaz, Ramwadi and PCMC. For the next four days, the administration has decided to deploy additional staff at these stations to manage the crowds.
“The rush peaked on Saturday. We are operating trains every five minutes during peak hours. Mandai station has been witnessing significant rush for the past five days. Devotees are advised to avoid unnecessary rush as trains are operating continuously until late at night. They can also use PMC and other stations to reach the central areas,” a Metro official said.
Commuters, however, said issuing journey tickets is taking time and called for the process to be simplified. They have also suggested that Metro introduce six-coach trains on an experimental basis during Ganeshotsav to accommodate the increased rush.
“The administration should consider introducing group tickets to save the time and effort involved in scanning separate tickets for each commuter,” said Vivek Konde , a resident of Satara Road.
Meanwhile, workers of Ganesh mandals said the rush is likely to increase as visitors step out in large numbers for pandal hopping during the final days of Ganeshotsav.
Akash Ingale, a worker at a Ganesh mandal in Shukrawar Peth , said footfall had increased on Saturday and Sunday. “The spells of rain generally bring down footfall every year, but this time the festival has not witnessed any significant rainfall,” he said.
The Metro administration said daily ridership has remained above three lakh for the last five consecutive days and is likely to remain at a similar level until immersion day.
Stations that have recorded a significant rise in daily footfall include Mandai, Civil Court and Kasba Peth, as well as originating stations such as Vanaz, Ramwadi and PCMC. For the next four days, the administration has decided to deploy additional staff at these stations to manage the crowds.
“The rush peaked on Saturday. We are operating trains every five minutes during peak hours. Mandai station has been witnessing significant rush for the past five days. Devotees are advised to avoid unnecessary rush as trains are operating continuously until late at night. They can also use PMC and other stations to reach the central areas,” a Metro official said.
Commuters, however, said issuing journey tickets is taking time and called for the process to be simplified. They have also suggested that Metro introduce six-coach trains on an experimental basis during Ganeshotsav to accommodate the increased rush.
“The administration should consider introducing group tickets to save the time and effort involved in scanning separate tickets for each commuter,” said Vivek Konde , a resident of Satara Road.
Meanwhile, workers of Ganesh mandals said the rush is likely to increase as visitors step out in large numbers for pandal hopping during the final days of Ganeshotsav.
Akash Ingale, a worker at a Ganesh mandal in Shukrawar Peth , said footfall had increased on Saturday and Sunday. “The spells of rain generally bring down footfall every year, but this time the festival has not witnessed any significant rainfall,” he said.
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