Gandhinagar, March 5 – The Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC) operated over 7,400 additional bus trips during the Holi and Dhuleti festival period, transporting approximately 3.14 lakh passengers across the state, officials said on Thursday.
Special arrangements were made to manage the seasonal increase in travel as people returned to their hometowns or visited religious centers during the festival.
Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi congratulated the officers and staff of the corporation, particularly the drivers and conductors, for the arrangements made during the festive rush.
"The state government remains committed to ensuring that citizens receive safe and timely transport services during festivals without inconvenience," he said.
The additional services were operated between February 27 and March 4.
According to official figures, the extra operations enabled approximately 3.14 lakh passengers to travel safely during the period.
The number of special trips and passengers this year surpassed last year's figures, when the corporation had operated around 7,100 additional trips and transported about 2.80 lakh passengers.
A significant number of services were operated for devotees travelling to Dakor for worship at the Ranchhodraiji temple, which traditionally attracts large crowds during the Holi festival.
The corporation ran around 3,600 special trips for the route, facilitating travel for about 1.32 lakh pilgrims.
Transport services were strengthened from several major cities to accommodate the increased demand.
Ahmedabad recorded 687 additional trips, while 716 trips were operated from Himmatnagar. Surat accounted for 496 trips and Vadodara for 255.
The corporation also ran 220 extra services from Junagadh and 131 from Rajkot.
Additional buses were deployed from other centers including Surendranagar, Morbi, Jamnagar, Dahod, Godhra, Devgadh Baria, Santrampur and Lunawada to manage passenger traffic during the festival period.
Occasions such as Holi-Dhuleti, Diwali, etc., are expected to increase the transportation service.
Recently, the state government operated additional buses and trips during the Mahashivratri fair at Bhavnath Temple.