BY- Arpita SharadTourists had to walk the four-km distance to the famed Ajanta Caves from the parking area on account of the strike by the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) employees on Tuesday .Taking advantage of the absence of transport, a number of bullock-cart owners began offering rides to the caves at Rs 500 per person. Several tourists, including foreigners, were seen taking these rides as they did not want to leg the distance in the heat.From Wednesday , however, the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation ( MTDC ) will make alternative arrangements to ferry visitors till the strike continues.The MTDC has banned all vehicles, apart from eight to ten buses run by the MSRTC, from going beyond the parking lot at the world heritage site. Vehicles are not allowed because of the narrow approach road and also to keep a check on the pollution levels around the caves. With the bus service having stopped owing to the strike, chaotic scenes prevailed at the parking lot.Sean Mohan from Canada, who walked to the caves along with his elderly parents, told TOI, "One cannot do much if the MSRTC employees have gone on a strike.However, the authorities who knew about the strike should have informed the tour operators so that they could have managed the situation better." Mohan and his family managed to make it back from the caves just in time for their evening flight to Mumbai.Sundeep Gaikwad, senior government tourist guide, said foreign tourists had to skip important spots at the historic site because of the transport debacle. "After the tourism promoters' guild took up the matter with the district collector, four buses were arranged from 1.30pm to ferry passengers to and from the parking lot," he said.Guild president Jaswant Singh termed the situation as "unfortunate". "When the authorities knew that the strike was scheduled for Tuesday , they should have made alternative arrangements," he said.Incidentally , the Ellora Caves are closed on Tuesday , which brought the entire flow of tourists to the Ajanta Caves. Besides, Tuesday was the first day of Diwali which resulted in a significant jump in the number of tourists.MTDC senior regional manager Annasaheb Shinde said they have roped in four private transporters to ferry visitors from Wednesday till the strike continues. Tourists will be charged Rs 50 for a oneway trip, he added.

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