In what will be a major relief to passengers across West Garo Hills, the Deputy Commissioner, Ram Singh, has warned transport operators against overcharging passengers under the guise of Covid-19 guidelines.
In an order today the DC stated that it had been brought to his notice that passengers, especially in rural areas, were being overcharged by public transport operators who claimed to be doing so because of Covid-19 rules.
The DC ordered that, going forward, all transporters were to charge only the amount that has been notified by the transport office.
Furthermore, the DC also directed the office of the District Transport Officer to ensure all private transporters charged their passengers as has been notified by the department.
There had been several complaints coming from various quarters over the fact that transporters were charging almost double the notified fare despite the fact that Covid protocols on reducing the number of people in buses and shared taxis were hardly being followed.
Meanwhile the Garo Students Union’s southern zone President, Chuang Houser Sangma, has filed a complaint with the DTO of South Garo Hills over the transport fares that have not been reduced despite the passengers being allowed to travel at full vehicle capacity.
“They are charging Rs 500 per passenger, which is the rate with social distancing. They continue to charge high despite the situation normalizing,” asserted Sangma.
