SNT presses all available buses to Siliguri service, sends out 16 today

Ticket seekers at SNT terminus, Gangtok

At the SNT terminus, Siliguri

An SNT convoy of 5 buses awaits WB police escort at 2 Mile, Siliguri

SAGAR CHHETRI
GANGTOK, 10 Feb: The Sikkim Nationalised Transport pressed an expanded fleet of buses into service to keep Sikkim linked with the rest of the world today, the second day of the indefinite bandh in the Darjeeling hills. Only SNT buses are plying on the highway to Siliguri at present, moving in convoys under West Bengal police escort. Today, 16 buses [up from 10 yesterday] moved from Gangtok to Siliguri and five made the journey in from Siliguri.
Deputy General Manager, SNT, Rinchen Bhutia, informs that under ‘normal’ conditions, SNT plies seven buses to Siliguri from Gangtok, but given the special circumstances of the present, extra buses have been inducted to service this route. The fares, one may add, remain unchanged.
Mr. Bhutia informed that even the JNURRM buses earmarked for the city-runner service for Gangtok and its surrounding areas have been added to the Siliguri fleet to ensure that people who need to travel are not left stranded.
It is learnt that while the convoy of 16 buses left the SNT complex here by 8:30 this morning, they could proceed beyond Rangpo only later in the afternoon accompanied by West Bengal police escorts.
The five buses from Siliguri too waited till afternoon at 2nd Mile, Siliguri, till the WB police escorts arrived.
All buses reached their destination safely.
Meanwhile, the rush of ticket seekers at the SNT complex here was heavy throughout the day.
The DGM informs that they were only taking advance booking for seven buses and that the rest were sold on the day of travel itself when the number of buses available was confirmed.