Punjab lifts restrictions on number of passengers in buses

The state government had earlier allowed buses to ply with 50 per cent occupancy to ensure social distancing amid the COVID-19 pandemic. On the issue of petrol and diesel price hike, Singh said the Congress Working Committee (CWC) has already passed a resolution on the issue and he hoped the central government would roll back the increase.

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Saturday announced lifting of restrictions on the number of passengers in buses in view of operators refusing to ply buses with reduced occupancy due to rising fuel prices. Wearing face masks will be mandatory for all those travelling in buses, he said.

Singh made the announcement during a Facebook Live session of 'AskCaptain', according to a government release issued here. The chief minister said he had learnt that operators were refusing to ply buses with reduced occupancy due to the financial losses it entails, especially in the current situation when the prices of petrol and diesel are going up on a daily basis.

This was causing problems to commuters, he said. He stressed that people will have to mandatorily wear face masks, which can reduce the spread of COVID-19 by 70 per cent. The state government had earlier allowed buses to ply with 50 per cent occupancy to ensure social distancing amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

On the issue of petrol and diesel price hike, Singh said the Congress Working Committee (CWC) has already passed a resolution on the issue and he hoped the central government would roll back the increase. The CWC had on Tuesday passed a resolution expressing shock and concern over the repeated and "unjust" increase in petrol and diesel prices as also excise duty over the last three months of the lockdown.

While diesel rates were hiked for the 21st straight day on Saturday, petrol prices have been increased on 20 occasions in three weeks. On Saturday, the price of petrol was hiked by 25 paise per litre and diesel by 21 paise per litre, taking the cumulative increase in rates in three weeks to Rs 9.12 and Rs 11.01, respectively.

Singh also announced extension of the deadline for applying for minibus permits till July 15. The last date for submitting the applications was June 30.

Applications have been invited by the state government for permits covering more than 1,400 rural routes. This step is aimed at breaking the monopoly of the existing bus operators, while also providing employment opportunity for jobless youths. Singh, during the budget session of the Legislative Assembly, had announced the issuance of 5,000 minibus permits, and the transport department had accordingly issued public notices inviting applications for grant of such permits. The process was initiated in early March 2020 through a public drive.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)