<span style="color: black;">Just a couple of days ahead of Maharashtra's most awaited and popular Ganesh Utsav, the state government has permitted resumption of inter-district bus transport service.<br />'' <br />''It may be recalled that the service was stopped in an effort to arrest the spread of coronavirus.<br />'' <br />''However, the service has been restarted at an opportune time since lakhs of people, especially from Mumbai travel to their home towns in Ratnagiri, Raigad and Sindhudurg for the festival.<br />'' <br />''AIR correspondent reports, after a break of almost five months, the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation is all set to resume its services.<br />'' <br />''Maharashtra's Transport Minister Anil Parab has said that all types of short distance buses like Shivneri, Shivshahi, ordinary and semi-luxury will resume their services tomorrow onwards, while booking for long distance buses will also be resumed gradually.<br />'' <br />''The minister has clarified that passengers would not require an e-pass, permission or approval for inter-district travel in these buses. However, e-pass will remain mandatory for people travelling in private vehicles.<br />'' <br />''Mr. Parab has said that people will have to strictly follow guidelines issued to prevent COVID-19 like frequent washing of hands and maintain social distancing. He informed that the state transport authority has been providing transport facility to migrant workers and to essential services providers during lockdown.<br />'' <br />''With a fleet of over 18,000 buses and nearly one lakh workforce, MSRTC is one of the biggest state road transport corporations in the county. Before the outbreak of COVID-19, over 65 lakh passengers used to travel daily in MSRTC buses.</span><br />