LAHORE, June 15: The City District Government has raised income from the Badami Bagh General Bus Stand fee from Rs100 million to Rs150 million during the past four years without providing any facilities to transporters and passengers. The CDGL has managed to increase the income by raising the rate on the one hand and awarding separate contracts for its collection for different bays and roads instead of the previous practice of awarding a single contract.

The transporters had to pay only Rs3 per trip for picking passengers when the bus stand was established in the 1960’s. The fee was later raised to Rs7 per trip and restricted to 34 bays inside the bus stand. It was raised to Rs40 per trip last year. A separate fee equal to the fare of one passenger was introduced for 31 bays on the outer side of the bus stand where airconditioned buses were shifted in the 1990’s.

The CDGL has managed to increase its income from the bus stand by 50 per cent without providing any worthwhile facilities to the transporters or passengers.

District Nazim Mian Amer has been making announcements regarding remodelling of the bus stand and construction of offices for transporters at the bays besides the provision of better facilities to passengers since 2002, but he has not been able to provide the facilities available at small privately-operated bus stands on Bund Road so far.

An average of 4,000 buses arrive and depart from the bus stand daily, but it lacks adequate facilities for parking. Thousands of buses waiting for the turn to pick passengers are seen parked along the roads in different parts of the city as a result. The bus stand has no waiting rooms for over 200,000 passengers using it every day, no rickshaw or taxi stand and no proper entry or exit points.

The bays for airconditioned buses are situated on the Ravi Link Road on the outer side of the bus stand, and the buses can operate without entering it. Other buses enter and leave from the Ravi Link Road side.

Milk samples: Of the 598 milk samples collected by the City District Government Lahore food squad during the past five days, 398 have been found adulterated on analysis.

The squad has also seized 800 kilograms of unfit for human consumption margarine from a shop at Chowk Yateem Khana. It had a melting point of 44 degrees centigrade instead of 37.

The squad also seized 1,000 bottles of spurious soft drinks of international brands from Ashrafi Street, Salamatpura.

Cases under the Pure Food Ordinance provisions have been instituted against those found selling adulterated milk, substandard margarine and spurious soft drinks.