The buses on the local and short routes did not ply after 2.30 p.m. while the long-route bus service was discontinued at 4 p.m. The Haryana Roadways authorities at Ambala and Naraingarh depots had given no prior information that the buses would not run on Diwali.

Maxi-cab and short-route bus operators plying on local routes had a field day, using their vehicles on local and short routes. The operators of short-routes buses run by different transport societies plied their buses on long routes in violation of the rules. Maxi-cab owners charged fares two or three times the normal fare at the general bus stand in Ambala city, Ambala Cantonment and Naraingarh. The three-wheeler operators running between the twin towns of Ambala did not lag behind, and charged fares according to their will.

Detained passengers were forced to use alternate transport sources including trucks, tempos, canters and taxis. Many of them were seen perched on top of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab buses.

They criticised Haryana Roadways authorities for discontinuing the bus service without prior notice. They said that the authorities should have made alternate arrangements to avoid harassing passengers.

Sources from the roadways depot here said that since no staff was available in the evening because of Diwali, the service had to be discontinued. They regretted the inconvenience faced by the passengers.