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| October 28, 2006 | Saturday | Shawwal 4, 1427 |
Eid journey by public transport a nightmare
LAHORE, Oct 27: Those who had to travel to and from their native places during Eid holidays by public transport had to face a great deal of hardship and humiliation.
Fares much higher than the actual rates were charged from the passengers while in some instances they were subjected to humiliation and physical torture by administrations at various bus terminals in the city and elsewhere in the province.
Although no law and order situation was reported from the province, but security measures taken at the bus terminals were very poor with deployment of only one or two constables to look after hundreds of people.
The usual fare for journey from Faisalabad to Lahore is Rs60-Rs80, depending on the type of transport, says Nisar Ahmad, who together with his family spent Eid holidays at his native village and returned to Lahore on Friday. He claimed that he paid Rs120 for a seat. “This is just a robbery. Nobody was there to check it.”
Salman Ahmad, who got back to Lahore from Sargodha, said he paid thrice the actual fare for both sides. He added it was just an uphill task to take some transport for his hometown a day before Eid.
Narrating his experience, Muhammad Ishfaq said he found a large gathering at the city main bus terminal at Badami Bagh when he rushed there to catch transport for Narowal. “I was shocked to learn that there was no more transport for Narowal. There were around 200 or 250 people wanting to leave for Narowal. “After waiting for around an hour, he said, a bus came there with a hawker shouting Narowal, Narowal. People surrounded the bus, but they were being pushed away by the hawker and two other men, who, later, allowed only those passengers to enter the bus who were ready to pay Rs100 each. “I could not secure a seat. The bus left and I was again disappointed. Another bus came there after half an hour,” he said, adding that the same story was repeated. “It was a planned affair as there was no actual shortage of buses for Narowal.”
Ashraf traveling from Jhang to Lahore on Friday night after spending his holidays said by phone that he had paid Rs300 instead of the normal Rs175 for the journey. He said he was asked to get off the bus when he protested.
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