Expressing disappointment at what they termed the apathy of the State Government towards the allegedly illegal operation of three wheeler vehicles in Dehradun, the members of Dehradun Mahanagar City Bus Seva Mahasangh stated that if the administration does not awake from its slumber soon, the local transport system might get destroyed in the future. Since the past few months, the city bus operators have been accusing the operators of electric rickshaws, three wheelers and auto rickshaws of plying their vehicles in the city while blatantly violating rules and regulations. According to the president of the association, Vijay Vardhan Dandriyal, these vehicles are currently running in the city with more passengers than permitted by the government. The operators of the three wheelers have been doing so for months now but the government is not taking any concrete action against them. “The e-rickshaws are picking passengers from the main roads of the city which is not permissible but none of the authorities restrict them. Such ignorance is costing livelihood of many bus operators during the Covid-19 pandemic,” stated Dandriyal.
He added that there are a handful of city buses running in Dehradun but they lack passengers because most of them prefer to travel for the slightly less fare of three wheeler vehicles with more passengers. “If we have been making any profit currently, all the city buses would probably be running in Dehradun but we are not. However, we do not hear from any three wheeler operators that they are not getting enough passengers. It is obvious because they fill as many passengers in their vehicles as they can without worrying about any consequences,” stated Dandriyal.
He said, “If the government will continue to ignore such illegal operations of three-wheelers in Dehradun, the existence of the city buses will be in danger and will soon cease to exist like it did in the year 1997.” If the government wants to keep the operation of the local public transport including the city buses alive here, the administration needs to take strict action against the illegal operations of public transport vehicles in Dehradun, added Dandriyal.
Saturday, 12 September 2020 | PNS | Dehradun
