Gurugram, Oct. 15 -- Haryana Roadways will deploy additional buses on 13 intercity routes to accommodate rising passenger demand in anticipation of the festive rush during Diwali, officials from the Department of State Transport (DST) said on Tuesday. The additional buses will connect Gurugram to nearby districts and popular tourist destinations to boost inter-city connectivity during the festival period, officials privy to the matter said. Bharat Bhushan Gogia, general manager of the Gurugram depot, said the decision was taken during a departmental meeting held last Wednesday. "Based on previous years' experience of seeing a high footfall on the 13 designated routes, we have decided to run additional buses, starting from October 17," Gogia said. He added that the newly introduced buses will remain operational until October 21 to ensure ease of travel for passengers during the festive season. "Among the routes with the largest number of additional buses from Gurugram include Chandigarh (21), Jaipur (11), Agra (10), Kosali (10), Rewari (8), and Rohtak (8)," Gogia informed. A senior DST official said that buses which earlier operated during night hours have been reassigned to these busy daytime routes to cater to the surge in demand. Other routes receiving additional services include Sirsa (3), Jind (2), Shimla (1), Katra (1), Haridwar (1), Haldwani (1), and Dehradun (1). Officials said that on normal days, the Gurugram bus stand handles around 10,000 passengers daily, but the number rises to over 15,000 during festive weeks. "We will continue increasing the number of buses on more routes depending on passenger demand. A 24/7 hotline has been set up for commuters to enquire about routes, and seven officers have been deployed to manage day-to-day bus operations during the festive period," Gogia added....