RAWALPINDI: The Rawalpindi railway station and bus terminals in different parts of the city, especially at Pirwadhai, were thronged with passengers going to their hometowns to celebrate Eidul Fitr. The rushswelled on Tuesday with passengers complaining of being overcharged by transporters.

Pakistan Railways launched special trains for Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar besides attaching additional coaches to the trains. The last special train to Karachi left on Tuesday while a train from Quetta brought passengers, said railway officials. They said every year there was a rushof people at the railway station and the management made elaborate measures to deal with it.

The passengers at the railway station complained that they faced hardship in getting tickets. They wanted to reserve seats but due to rushat booking stations they failed to do so.

However, some passengers complained about black marketing of tickets. “Some people were in the railway station selling tickets at high rates,” alleged Mohammad Akhter, who was going to Lahore.

Meanwhile, the inter-province and inter-district busterminals too witnessed a big rush of passengers. Hundreds of passengers boarded buses and wagons for Lahore, Peshawar, Bhakhar and Multan from Soan, Pirwadhai Mor and Pirwadhai general busstands.

The passengers complained of overcharging by transporters and overcrowded buses and wagons. They told Dawn that transporters were charging more than normal fares. “I have to pay double the normal fare for Multan,” said Mohammad Tanveer. He said he had no option but to pay the double fare.

On the other hand, Deputy Commissioner Dr Hassan Waqar Cheema said that the administration will not allow overcharging by transporters. He directed Regional Transport Authority Secretary Rashid Ali to visit the bus stand at Pirwadhai and take strict action against transporters charging high fares. He said implementation of fares was being ensured, he said.

On the instructions of the DC, the secretary RTA along with his staff made a surprise visit to the general bus stand at Pirwadhai. The transporters were issued challans of Rs0.2 million. Officials of the transport union met the RTA secretary. The transporters assured them of not overcharging and facilitating passengers.

The RTA secretary said a control room had been set up at the RTA office for redress of public grievances. Squads have also been set up for implementation of the officially fixed fares.

Published in Dawn, April 10th, 2024