GILGIT, May 21: The commuters on domestic and inter-provincial routes are annoyed at the new fare tariff introduced by the Northern Areas transport secretary. Some public representatives said according to the tariff, 80 paisas had been increased per kilometre and in some cases, the fares had gone beyond what the passengers could afford.

They said the new tariff made travel difficult for the poor people who were already overburdened by ever increasing prices of essential commodities.

They pointed out since the rural areas lacked employment opportunities and health facilities, the poor villagers shuttled between rural and urban areas in search of jobs or medical treatment.

They demanded at least the government should set up and improve health facilities in the rural areas so that the villagers could avoid visiting hospitals in the urban areas.

The fare rise would also discourage domestic tourism and trade as fares to Hunza, Nagar, Phander, Astore, Gupis and Skardu, main tourist destinations in the region, had registered a 50 per cent increase, some tour operators said.

They said the secretary transport had announced the fare hike without taking steps to improve the transport service.

An official in the transport department said the fare raise had been necessitated by recurring increase in oil prices.