While Navi Mumbai Airport prepares to open, Kharkopar bus conductors still wait for basic shelter

Sharad Deshmukh, an NMMT conductor for 24 years, sits on the only chair provided by NMMT as two officials stand beside him. Pic/Amarjeet Singh

As Navi Mumbai gears up for the opening of the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) with final checks, trial runs, and security drills underway, another reality sits quietly in its shadow. At Kharkopar railway station, the end stop for NMMT bus routes 17, 18, and 23, all of which pass along the airport stretch, conductors are still waiting for something far more basic than an aerobridge: a simple shelter.

Every day, while sleek airport buses glide past and Ulwe's roads buzz with construction, conductors at the last stop huddle under the narrow shade of a private hotel in Sector 16. This unofficial "rest area" doubles as their waiting point between trips. Sharad Deshmukh, an NMMT conductor for 24 years, says the situation at Kharkopar has remained unchanged for years.

"There is no shelter, no official place for us," Deshmukh told mid-day. "We sit wherever we find some shade outside the hotel. The one chair NMMT gave us also stays inside the hotel because there's no proper space." Kharkopar is the terminal point for all three routes, each gaining importance as NMIA operations are set to begin. Yet, conductors say they are still "running the system without even a roof over our heads."