Commuters in the twin cities faced great hardships on Thursday due to the shortage of public transport as a result of the CNG stations closure. It has become a routine that the drivers of public transport vehicles do not complete their designated routes during these specific days under the pretext of gas shortage despite the fact that they charge the passengers according to diesel prices. On the other hand, many transporters do not bring their vehicles on roads, thus aggravating the problem. More than 40 percent public transport remained off the roads due to non-availability of CNG. Same was the case with the taxi drivers while those, who opted to operate, overcharged the passengers.
A government employee Abdul Baqi, while waiting at a bus stop in Shamsabad, said it was difficult for them to catch a vehicle to reach their workplaces. “I am waiting for about an hour but unable to board any vehicle because of the rush,” he added.
Another citizen Naushad said the transporters were taking advantage of the CNG load shedding to fleece the passengers. “I boarded a route number 1 van from Faizabad bus stop but the conductor told me that they are only plying their vehicle up to Aabpara and not going to the Super Market as we they are running on “petrol” due to gas load shedding”, he added. “However, the same vehicle departed for Super Market carrying new passengers to charge the double fare,” he alleged.
Earlier on night between Wednesday and Thursday, there were long queues of vehicles at the CNG stations, but the gas pressure was very low.
The commuters had to wait for a long time to get their cylinders refilled. The citizens demanded the government to take solid steps to provide inexpensive mode of transportation and keep the economy moving. They asked the authorities concerned to reschedule the closure of CNG stations plan so that people could get relief.
