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ATTOCK, Oct 12: Local transporters are fleecing commuters thronging local bus stands in Attock, Taxila and Wah Cantonment, and charging them twice the normal fare on various inter-city routes, exploiting the extraordinary surge of passengers wanting to reach their hometowns before Eid, it has been learnt.
Most out-of-town employees began leaving Attock on Thursday evening to spend their five-day Eid holidays with families.
At certain places, desperate passengers could be seen exchanging hot words with drivers and conductors for charging twice the normal fare.
Some greedy transporters have installed additional seats to squeeze in more passengers and they were also forcing them to either keep standing or sit on top of roofs.
Some devious drivers were creating an artificial shortage of vehicles to charge exorbitant rates.
They park their vehicles away from passengers’ sight, yet close to the bus stands.
Passengers have criticised the authorities for failing to stop the transporters from indulging in these illegal activities.
The Attock Railway Station also saw an unprecedented surge of passengers. A majority of them were facing problems because most seats had already been booked.
EMPLOYEES’ CONCERN: Government employees, particularly non- locals, expressed concern over non-declaration of Friday (Oct 12) as a holiday.
The were of the opinion that the government should have included Friday in the Eid holidays as now it would be difficult for them to reach their hometowns.
As a result, some of them decided to celebrate Eid in Attock to avoid the maddening rush. But some of them were smart enough to take an extra day off and leave on Thursday evening.
Our Taxila correspondent adds: Transporters are overcharging those who were leaving the twin cities of Taxila and Wah Cantonment for their native towns, a survey revealed.
An incredible rush of passengers was observed at bus terminals and railway stations.
Quite a few people have already left while the remaining ones were seen rushing towards bus stands and railway stations.
Taxila and Wah Cantonment, the hub of defence-related industries where thousands of people work, were one the worst hit areas due to the arbitrary increase in fares.
The powerful transporters’ mafia, with the alleged connivance of some traffic officials, have raised their fares by 100 per cent.
The survey revealed that inter-district and inter-city transporters are indulging in their habitual pre-Eid fare hike, although an inter-city fare list was issued by the RTA and the district government authorities.
A transporter said it was their right to increase the fares, as they had to pay ‘Eidi’ to all traffic police circles in each city they passed through and had to share their profits with the police officials, so they factor this in in their fares.
They added that they had no other option as they had already paid the ‘monthly’ amount, at the enhanced rate to the police officials, for the month of October.
Transporters in Taxila, Hassanabdal and Wah Cantonment had already increased their fares, by five rupees per destination on inter-city routes, due to the increase in petrol prices.
Though the government has warned of strict action against overcharging, yet all those in authority —the concerned traffic police, regional transport authority and other concerned officials— seemed quite helpless in controlling the illegal rise in fares. Neither the local administration nor the district government have shown any interest in punishing the transporters.
