"Charging excess fare won't be allowed," Cachar DTO issues stern warning

All Assam Transport Association had called for an indefinite Chakka Bandh on Monday. Their demand was to lift the 50% cap on seating imposed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Assam. They said that the public transport owners were incurring huge losses due to this rule.

The MoHFW of Assam, yesterday, announced that it has decided to remove the cap. The Health Department made it clear that the buses cannot have standing passengers but all seats can be occupied.

After this order, the All Assam Transport Association decided to withdraw the Chakka Bandh. However, in Barak Valley, the mini and city buses are still charging access fare. Some buses are filling full seats and yet charging double. When the general public questioned, the driver said they do not know about any order which mandates them to charge a normal fare.

Kishore Kumar Bhattacharjee of All Assam Motor Transport Association said that the owners have incurred huge losses. “We are not in a position to normalise fare yet. We will have to keep in mind the losses and the rapid surge in the price of petrol,” said Bhattacharjee.

DTO Cachar, Siddhartha Saikia, however, is not willing to buy this argument. “Charging double fare or in fact, any fare access to what was approved before the lockdown will not be allowed. The public transport owners will have to face consequences if the fare is not regularised,” the DTO has issued a stern warning.

Recently, in association with the Cachar Police, the transport department has conducted several drives to check if proper social distancing is being maintained. More such drives are likely to be conducted by the administration. “The vehicles will be seized if they are found flouting the guidelines issued by the Health Department,” warned the DTO.