With Bihar’s ruling JD(U) having booked four trains and about 20,000 buses to bring people from across the state for its Adhikar rally to display the regional party’s strength, capital Patna is set to reel under a traffic nightmare for at least three days.
East Central Railway has made a windfall of `36 lakh by providing the JD(U) four trains specially for the November 4 rally in Patna at a cost of `9 lakh for each train. ECR sources said these special trains having about 19 coaches each would start from Raxaul, Saharsa, Bagaha and Sheikhpura on Sunday morning and carry the JD(U) supporters back the same evening after the rally is over. JD(U) leaders said two more special trains were likely to be booked to carry people from Banka, Kishanganj and Bhagalpur. These bookings would, however, cause no disruption or cancellation of the railways’ normal running of scheduled trains, said ECR officials.
According to Bihar Motor Transport Federation (BMTF) sources, about 20,000 buses have been booked by the JD(U) to carry supporters to Patna from across the state and carry them back either on Sunday evening or on Monday morning. On an average, about 200 buses of various capacities have been booked at each town across Bihar.
Unlike during earlier political rallies in Bihar, bus-owners this time are a happy lot because the JD(U) is making payments upfront. “No bus-owner has been forced to press his vehicles into the rally,” said BMTF president Uday Shankar Singh.