No dip in demand for holy dip: Kumbh bus fare at 4k peak
Times of India | 4 February 2025
1234 Kolkata: A 794-km road trip from Kolkata to Prayagraj, covered in 16 hours by a luxury sleeper or seater AC bus, is the newest choice for the city's devotees heading for a holy dip at Maha Kumbh, even though a seat costs significantly more than that for a train ride. Following the sudden cancellation of all Kumbh special trains after the Mauni Amavasya stampede and the long waiting list on other trains on the route, as well as the soaring flight fares, many have now turned to these buses on which seats can be booked online.
Tamal Talukdar (52) and his wife booked tickets on a sleeper-class bus that left Babughat for Kumbh around 6 pm on Thursday. "Our ticket to the Kumbh special train got cancelled and suddenly, we came to know about this direct bus service," said Talukdar, who spent Rs 8,000 for two tickets. "The ticket price is more than double that of a third AC train ride, but we had no other option," he added.
"The next Shahi Snan (royal dip) is on Feb 3, on the day of holy Basant Panchami, and we want to attend that," said Suresh Somani, a senior citizen from Howrah. The businessman is travelling with his wife on the same bus.
"We have had many queries over the last couple of days about the direct luxury bus services," said Rajat Mukherjee, a bus manager of Express Line Paribahan, which introduced a Kumbh special bus from Tuesday.
At least three premier bus services in the city have introduced a Kolkata-Kumbh service on a temporary basis, with fares ranging between Rs 3,500 and Rs 5,000.
A Kolkata resident, Pampa Das (42), who is travelling with her two friends and her husband, said, "We don't want to miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and this bus service turned out to be a blessing."
Balaram Yadav, a bus manager of Aitiana Travels, said, "Our first trip to Prayagraj was not at all a smooth one as we got stuck in a long traffic jam on a highway after crossing Varanasi." The bus had a delayed return journey. It reached Kolkata in the early hours of Friday, leading to the cancellation of the Thursday evening trip to Maha Kumbh.
Kolkata: A 794-km road trip from Kolkata to Prayagraj, covered in 16 hours by a luxury sleeper or seater AC bus, is the newest choice for the city's devotees heading for a holy dip at Maha Kumbh. Following the sudden cancellation of all Kumbh special trains after the Mauni Amavasya stampede tragedy and the long waiting list on other trains on the route, as well as the soraing flight fares, many have now turned to these buses on which seats can be booked online.
Tamal Talukdar (52) and his wife booked tickets on a sleeper-class bus that left Babughat for Kumbh around 6 pm on Thursday. "Our ticket to the Kumbh special train got cancelled and suddenly, we came to know about this direct bus service," said Talukdar, who spent Rs 8,000 for two tickets. "The ticket price is more than double that of a third AC train ride, but we had no other option," Talukdar added.
"The next Shahi Snan (royal dip) is on Feb 3, on the day of holy Basant Panchami, and we want to attend that," said Suresh Somani, a senior citizen from Howrah. The businessman is travelling with his wife on the same bus.
"We have had many queries over the last couple of days about the direct luxury bus services," said Rajat Mukherjee, a bus manager of Express Line Paribahan, which introduced a Kumbh special bus from Tuesday.
At least three premier bus services in the city have introduced a Kolkata-Kumbh service on a temporary basis, with fares ranging between Rs 3,500 and Rs 5,000.
A Kolkata resident, Pampa Das (42), who is travelling with her two friends and her husband, said, "We don't want to miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and this bus service turned out to be a blessing."
Balaram Yadav, a bus manager of Aitiana Travels, said, "Our first trip to Prayagraj was not at all a smooth one as we got stuck in a long traffic jam on a highway after crossing Varanasi." The bus had a delayed return journey. It reached Kolkata in the early hours of Friday, leading to the cancellation of the Thursday evening trip to Maha Kumbh.