Nashik: Commuters had to bear the brunt of the Maratha Kranti Morcha agitation in Nashik as over 1,100 Maharashtra State Road Transport (MSRTC) buses stayed off the road due to the ‘chakka jam’ stir on Thursday.Although the Nashik division of the transport utility had initially decided to operate 50% of its normal services on Thursday, it reversed its decision following damage to two buses parked at the Thakkar Bazar terminus, one at Old CBS and another at Gadkari Chowk by unknown people around midnight.Officials of the MSRTC said that the windscreen of one Shivshahi bus and three ordinary buses were damaged as two motorcycle-borne miscreants pelted stones on the vehicles.According to the officials, a decision was taken not to operate the city, intra- and inter-district buses from Nashik as there were apprehensions that vehicles could be attacked. All the buses were locked in depots and stands.Buses from Nashik to Mumbai, Pune, Aurangabad and other parts of the state did not ply, as a result of which over 3,120 trips were cancelled. Similarly, bus service was called of in 13 other places like Manmad, Malegaon, Satana, Surnaga. Same was the scene in adjoining districts of Jalgaon, Dhule, Nandurbar and Ahmednagar.The MSRTC suffered losses to the tune of around Rs 1.25 crore, said an official.The non-plying of buses put hundreds of passengers, including office-goers and those arriving at the Nashik Road railway station to immense hardships. Several train passengers were stranded as no buses were available and auto operators demanded exorbitant faresJalgaon student Salman Tadvi, who reached Nashik Road station by train in the morning, had to go to the Nashik division education office for some urgent work. “My friend and I first confirmed that there was no bandh in Nashik and hence came here. But the situation is different here. We had to pay twice the fare for autorickshaw to reach Nashik city,” he said.Tadvi also complained that no food was available as restaurants were closed. “For return too, we had to walk till Nasardi bridge before we could get any transport.”For Ashutosh Patil, commuting to Nashik Road railway station was not easy. “Usually I pay Rs 25 as rickshaw fare from Ambad. Today, I had to pay Rs 50 to travel the same distance,” said Patil, who works in a factory in Ambad and had to visit home at Bhusawal.The situation was no different for workers in other parts of the city. “We cannot afford a motorcycle and hence ST bus is the only means of transport. I opted for hitch-hiking and a good citizen helped me in reaching my factory,” Rakesh Rane, a resident of Upanagar who works in Ambad, said.

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