UPSC aspirants miss exams due to bus delay

More than 15 students from Pune who were to appear for the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examination in Mumbai for the post of Assistant Central Intelligence Officer were not allowed to sit for the examination for arriving late. This, thanks to the Maharashtra State Regional Transport Corporation (MSRTC) bus they boarded at Pune’s Swargate bus stand.

The bus left the depot more than one hour late. Ranjit Kurade, one of the aspirants from the city, in his complaint to MSRTC, held the messed-up schedule of the transport utility responsible for their loss. The aspirants stated that they were supposed to reach the examination centre in Mumbai before 10 am on Sunday and accordingly they boarded a Mumbai-bound bus scheduled to leave at 5.15 am from Swargate bus depot.

“We boarded the bus at around 5.15am, however,  there was no driver or conductor. When we went to enquire about it, we were asked to see the assistant tranport inspector,” stated Ranjit Kurade. Another aspirant Ashish Yadav stated that the officials at the ATI office almost drove them away and said they were not responsible for the delay. They even used foul language, he added.

“After we started putting pressure on them, the officials arranged another bus around 6.20 am and the bus moved out of the depot,” Yadav said.

“We had prepared hard for the examination, but it was all wasted because just of the MSRTC officials’ negligence,” said Nitin Patil. He sought that the MSRTC should take action against the people who were responsible for the delay.

Swargate depot manager Vijay Divate said the moment they came to know about the condition, they immediately arranged another bus, as the regular bus was stuck in the depot crowded by outstation buses. “We promise that such delays won’t happen again,” Divate said.