Daily commuters of Guwahati are facing hard times with the lack of minimal number of buses and other public vehicles in the city.
Ahead of the second and third phases of the Assam Assembly Elections, the government has requisitioned city buses and public transport for use during the election.
However, this has caused many grievances to the general public of Guwahati.
Very few city buses can be seen on the roads of Guwahati since morning due to which the majority of Guwahatians are facing difficulty.
Moreover, the existing buses are plying at overcrowded capacity. Which can be considered a threat given the surge in Covid-19 cases in Assam.
Even with the fear of Covid-19, people are forced to commute in overcrowded public buses.
“I have been waiting for 45 minutes at Adabari bus stop for the city but all the buses are fully packed. There is a big scarcity of city buses. I am facing immense problem commuting to office” stated daily commuter Nita Mali.
“I am facing problem going to my office. I have been waiting at the bus stop for more than one hour and all the buses are overcrowded. Even the auto-rickshaws are demanding more fare.” said Satabdi Saikia, a resident of Narengi.
Image credit: Indrajit Das
As per sources, very few city buses are available in the city right now.
• In Chandmari route there are about 7-8 city buses available for the public.
• In Paltan Bazar route there are about 15-20 city buses available.
It seems like the state-run Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC) buses were also not enough to cater to the demand. Our government cannot even cater vehicles of their own. Because of such inefficiency of our authorities, the commuters of Guwahati are facing hindrance.
Assam Assembly Election and inefficiency of authorities can be considered as the primary reason for the distress of commuters of Guwahati.
Image credit: Mrignaka S Pathak
The elections have been attributed to be the primary reason for the woes faced by the commuters of Guwahati.
It seems social distancing and various circulars issued by the State Government are just words written on paper.
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