Jewar residents face dangerous climb for bus access near Noida airport

Diwan Singh and Santa Devi, a couple in their forties, were climbing a steep 25-foot scree-laden slope with great difficulty to reach the Yamuna Expressway from their village, Dayanatpur. The couple has to do this often just to catch a bus to Aligarh, their native place.

Residents like Diwan Singh, who reside in villages across the Jewar tehsil — where Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently inaugurated the Noida International Airport — are forced to risk their lives daily to board buses from the Yamuna Expressway. This is despite strict pedestrian restrictions and a speed limit of 100 km/h, due to a poor public transportation system in place.

No Bus Stops

Despite being home to what would become India’s largest airport, the Jewar tehsil and its constituent villages still have no dedicated bus station. Kamal, a 48-year-old government employee, states, “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, adds, “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 function as a bus stop; therefore, it has high barricades all along its length. Ideally, dedicated off-road bus bays or designated bus stops along service roads should be present, but none exist along the Yamuna Expressway.”

Thus, residents are forced to first climb a 20- to 25-foot slope to reach the expressway, cross a three- to four-foot barricade, and then hope to catch a bus, as there is no fixed schedule. Several unauthorised stops have popped up along the expressway, with Jewar, Tappal, Bajna, and Vrindavan being the larger ones.

However, in his response to The Hindu, U.P. State Road Transport Corporation’s Regional Manager (Noida), M.K. Singh denied that passengers were facing such issues. “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 with her husband, mentions that she dreads the slope since it has injured her and her children multiple times. She also adds that climbing and crossing the barricades is especially difficult for women due to their sarees. 

The only support present at the Jewar stop is an industrial power cable tied to two trees along the slope, which the locals arranged after they saw numerous passengers sustaining injuries while descending from the ‘bus stop’. 

Residents state that injuries are common at these slopes and happen almost daily. Veer Singh, a sugarcane juice seller, told The Hindu that he has seen many women, elderly and children sustaining serious injuries 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,” said Gagan Kumar, an electric appliance wholesaler based in Jewar. 

Several villagers pointed out that they had submitted their request for stairs to both the Tehsil office and the Yamuna Authority, but no action was taken.

When asked about the demands, Narayan Maheshwari, Chairperson of Jewar Nagar Panchayat, blamed red tape. He stated that despite proposing and initiating staircase work in response to residents’ demands, the Yamuna Authority halted the project, claiming the site was outside its jurisdiction and warning of potential arrests.

The Hindu reached out to Yamuna Authority for comments but did not receive a response before the time of publication. 

Absence of shuttle service

P.S. Satyarthi, former Additional Transport Commissioner (Road Safety) of Uttar Pradesh, states that the core issue is the lack of shuttle bus services in the State connecting villages to tehsil and district headquarters.

The reason, he states, is the lack 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 government has all the necessary details to start the shuttle service and can initiate it within weeks. “All it needs is initiative and a policy change. But until things get on track, passengers will continue to face problems,” he added.