Pune: With Ganeshotsav coming to an end, the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) has announced additional bus services to facilitate devotees traveling to the "Sade Teen Shakti Peeth"s during the Navratri festival.

These services aim to cater to the large number of pilgrims seeking to visit the revered temples of Mahalakshmi (Kolhapur), Tulja Bhavani (Tuljapur), Renuka Mata (Mahur), and Saptashrungi (Vani) in Nashik. Group bookings have also been made available to accommodate larger pilgrim groups.

The buses will depart from major Pune depots, including Swargate, Shivajinagar, and Pimpri-Chinchwad, starting from October 5. The special tour package has been designed to cover all the temples in a three-day journey, with the ticket priced at ₹2,685 per person.

Devotees opting for this service will need to make their own arrangements for accommodation, meals, and Darshan passes at the respective temples.

Itinerary for Tour:

Departure from Pune: The first halt will be in Kolhapur for Mahalakshmi Temple Darshan. From there, the bus will proceed to Tuljapur, where it will halt for the night.

Second Day: Devotees will be taken to Mahur for Renuka Mata Temple Darshan.

Third Day: The tour will conclude on the third day with a visit to the Saptashrungi Temple in Vani, Nashik. The bus will then return to Pimpri-Chinchwad.

Pramod Nehul, the department controller, shared that the response from devotees has been overwhelmingly positive. “We expect a large number of devotees to take advantage of this service, and we have ensured that there will be sufficient buses to meet the demand,” he stated.

This initiative by the MSRTC department is expected to ease the travel burdens of pilgrims during the festive season, providing a comfortable and convenient means of visiting some of Maharashtra’s most important spiritual destinations.