Diwan Singh and Santa Devi, a pair of their forties, have been climbing a steep 25-foot scree-laden slope with nice problem to succeed in the Yamuna Expressway from their village, Dayanatpur. The couple has to do that typically simply to catch a bus to Aligarh, their native place.
Residents like Diwan Singh, who reside in villages throughout the Jewar tehsil — the place Prime Minister Narendra Modi not too long ago inaugurated the Noida International Airport — are pressured to danger their lives day by day to board buses from the Yamuna Expressway. This is regardless of strict pedestrian restrictions and a pace restrict of 100 km/h, resulting from a poor public transportation system in place.
No Bus Stops
Despite being house to what would change into India’s largest airport, the Jewar tehsil and its constituent villages nonetheless don’t have any devoted bus station. Kamal, a 48-year-old authorities worker, stated, “There are only two buses from the town centre to Noida at 7:30 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. But since residents here travel to places like Aligarh, Agra, and Mathura daily, nearly 90% have no alternative to expressway-only buses.” Vimla Devi, a passenger from Noida, added, “Even though they issue a ticket to Jewar, the bus never actually enters the town and just drops the passengers on the expressway.”
The Yamuna Expressway is a controlled-access expressway, i.e., it was not designed to operate as a bus cease; due to this fact, it has excessive barricades all alongside its size. Ideally, devoted off-road bus bays or designated bus stops alongside service roads must be current, however none exist alongside the Yamuna Expressway.”
Thus, residents are pressured to first climb a 20- to 25-foot slope to succeed in the expressway, cross a three- to four-foot barricade, after which hope to catch a bus, as there isn’t a mounted schedule. Several unauthorised stops have popped up alongside the expressway, with Jewar, Tappal, Bajna, and Vrindavan being the bigger ones.
Several unauthorized stops have emerged alongside the Yamuna Expressway, with main ones being at Jewar, Tappal, Bajna, and Vrindavan.
However, in his response to The Hindu, U.P. State Road Transport Corporation’s Regional Manager (Noida), M.Okay. Singh denied that passengers have been dealing with such points. “UPSRTC has enough buses running in the region. There’s no shortage. None of our buses make any unauthorised stops that can endanger the safety of the passengers,” he added.
Injuries, deaths and losses
Lata Singh, travelling along with her husband, talked about that she dreads the slope because it has injured her and her youngsters a number of occasions. She additionally provides that climbing and crossing the barricades is very troublesome for ladies resulting from their sarees.
The solely help current on the Jewar cease is an industrial energy cable tied to 2 timber alongside the slope, which the locals organized after they noticed quite a few passengers sustaining accidents whereas descending from the ‘bus stop’.
Residents acknowledged that accidents are widespread at these slopes and occur virtually day by day. Veer Singh, a sugarcane juice vendor, advised The Hindu that he has seen many ladies, aged and kids sustaining severe accidents and even fractures.
Vishal, an e-rickshaw driver, added, “We drivers often have to take people to the nearby hospital. Just a few months ago, an elderly lady lost her balance and fell before hitting a tree at the bottom of the slope. We rushed her to the hospital, but she couldn’t make it.”
“I have to depend on buses to transport products to my customers. But it is very difficult to scale these steep climbs with heavy appliances. When it rains, there’s no way to climb up. This leads to delayed deliveries, angry customers, and ultimately a loss in profits. I can’t rely on personal vehicles for transportation since the toll is too steep,” stated Gagan Kumar, an electrical equipment wholesaler based mostly in Jewar.
Several villagers identified that that they had submitted their request for stairs to each the Tehsil workplace and the Yamuna Authority, however no motion was taken.
When requested concerning the calls for, Narayan Maheshwari, Chairperson of Jewar Nagar Panchayat, blamed crimson tape. He acknowledged that regardless of proposing and initiating staircase work in response to residents’ calls for, the Yamuna Authority halted the undertaking, claiming the location was outdoors its jurisdiction and warning of potential arrests.
The Hindu reached out to Yamuna Authority for feedback however didn’t obtain a response earlier than the time of publication.
Absence of shuttle service
P.S. Satyarthi, former Additional Transport Commissioner (Road Safety) of Uttar Pradesh, stated that the core situation is the shortage of shuttle bus providers within the State connecting villages to tehsil and district headquarters.
The motive, he acknowledged, is the shortage of buses from UPSRTC to ply on these routes. “While private operators can fill the gap, the government will have to change some rules in the Motor Vehicles Act (1988) to allow them to operate on these routes.” According to Satyarthi, the federal government has all the mandatory particulars to start out the shuttle service and might provoke it inside weeks. “All it needs is initiative and a policy change. But until things get on track, passengers will continue to face problems,” he added.
Published – April 06, 2026 01:30 pm IST
