Nashik: Bus services in the Adgaon area of the city was disrupted for over an hour on Friday morning after protests by some drivers of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) against alleged heckling of a driver by some local residents.The driver had apparently moved the bus ahead at Adgaon bus stop while students were boarding, resulting in a few students falling down. Fortunately none of them suffered any serious injuries.This incident around 7.15am sparked off a protest in the area with local residents stopping the bus and allegedly misbehaving with the erring driver.Soon, his colleagues on that route parked their vehicles on the sides of the road and refused to ply. Later, some members of the MSRTC employees union reached the spot and after deliberations with the local residents and the drivers and conductors, services resumed around 9am.The general secretary of the MSRTC Kamgar Sanghatana, Promod Bhalekar, said such incidents have become a regular affair since the transport utility management has slashed the number of buses plying in the city."Our drivers and conductors bear the brunt of the ire of commuters. Since there are less buses plying on the roads, the waiting time for commuters have increased. And the buses are overcrowded," he said and demanded the transport utility to ply more buses in the city.In Adgaon area there is a huge rush of students of various colleges and schools, who travel by the MSRTC buses. The area has a government hostel, where 1,000 students of reserved categories hailing from rural parts of the district reside, and a few colleges. Students from nearby villages also come to Adgaon bus stand to travel to schools and colleges. Apart from this, there are office-goers who travel by MSRTC buses."It has become extremely difficult to board a bus early in the morning as it remains overcrowded. Unlike earlier, the availability of buses has become extremely erratic. We have to wait for at least 45 minutes to one hour if we miss the bus at 7.30. The students get late for schools and colleges if we miss the bus at that time," said Gaurav Labhde, a student.Local resident Popat Shinde said the MSRTC authorities must improve the services at least during the morning hours when hundreds of students travel. "Mishaps can happen anytime as these buses are overcrowded," he added.

Stay updated with all the Latest Nashik headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.