Pune Metro's decision to suspend its services from 6pm to 10pm on Friday due to Laxmi Pujan was met with severe criticism from commuters on social media.
"This is not cool. @metrorailpune, if you anticipate less crowds, run trains at reduced frequency. This is simply inexplicable and inexcusable," said an X (formerly Twitter) user.
"It is public transport and service should be available always. Nowhere in the world does such a thing happen. Only in Pune," commented another user.
A third user wrote, "What a waste of public service. How can a public transport system halt like this... unless it's an emergency shut down..."
"Going forward, please stop service from 1pm to 4 pm every day. Punekars sleep during that time. You may also consider stopping the service on holy days - Ekadashi, Chaturthi," a fourth user said sarcastically.
Meanwhile, Hemant Sonawane, Executive Director (Administration and Public Relations), Pune Metro, explained that the decision to suspend the service was based on expected low ridership on the festive evening. "It wouldn't be fair to have the drivers working for such a low ridership," he added.
From Saturday onwards, the metro service will resume its usual working hours of 6am to 10pm, he added.
Check out the reactions below:
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