Wednesday, 28 April 2021 | PNS | Dehradun
After the Dehradun district administration prohibited the movement of all types of private and public transport for the time period of the one-week Covid curfew, many were uncertain about how to commute in case of any emergencies. Many locals who do not own any vehicle were confused about how would they commute to hospitals, chemists or during any other emergencies if the administration would prohibit their movement completely.
Apart from locals, some local public transport operators were also confused about the same. “We have asked the transport department and district administration for permission to operate our autorickshaws if a passenger approaches us during some emergency. So far, we have not received any response from either of them. We do not want to operate without permission as it would be a violation of the law and the authorities would impose hefty fines too,” said Pankaj Arora, the president of Doon Auto Rickshaw Union. Responding to such uncertainties in the city, the regional transport officer (enforcement) of Dehradun, Sandeep Saini said that the administration has made it clear in the orders that people can commute during emergencies but with a valid reason.
According to him, the authorities would not take action against the passenger and the operator of the public transport vehicle during the curfew period if they have genuine emergency reason to commute. “Many locals and public vehicle operators continue to violate the administration’s orders due to which, the authorities have to check the vehicles on the roads during the curfew. However, the authorities are quite considerate towards those who have genuine reasons to commute during the curfew,” asserted Saini. Meanwhile, he also informed that on the first full day of the curfew, the transport office seized six public transport vehicles for violating Covid curfew rules and imposed penalties on 11 vehicles from various areas like Tehsil Chowk, Saharanpur Road and near Niranjanpur Mandi. He appealed to people to take the covid curfew seriously and suggested commuting during serious emergencies only.
