COVID-19: 96 Vehicles Fined Over SOPs Violations

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 5th Jul, 2020 ) :The Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), Administration has fined around 96 vehicles so far over violations of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), issued to contain COVID-19 spread.

Secretary, Islamabad Transport Authority (ITA), Kamran Cheema along with traffic police officials checked as many as 196 vehicles across the city, according to a report issued by the ICT administration.

Talking to APP, Cheema said the teams of ITA were monitoring regularly at bus terminals and wagon stands to ensure the implementation of COVID-19 SOPs.

Actions were being taken over the non-compliance, following the directions of Deputy Commissioner Islamabad, he added.

Meanwhile the daily commuters have also complained about the overcharging in public transports.

They said that transporters continued their tactics of fleecing citizens amid pandemic owing to the negligence of transport authorities.

Adnan, a commuter near Melody wagon stop said most of the public service vehicles (PSVs) plying on various routes of Islamabad sans fare list.

They (vehicles) were not even completing their routes and over-charging the commuters from the prescribed fare that shows slackness of the authorities.

Ali Reza, another commuter at Jaffar Chowk, near G-11 Markaz asked the authorities concerned to devise a mechanism to stop the practice as the drivers were continued to rip off travelers without any fear.

Those violating the designated routes and not displaying fare list should be dealt with iron hands to facilitate the masses, he added.

When contacted, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Traffic, Farrukh Rasheed said special teams have been constituted to take actions against the violators while the performance of traffic personnel was also being evaluated for better implementation of traffic laws.

"It is mandatory for the transporters to keep fare list with them, in case of missing or routes incompletion commuters can lodge their complaints at traffic Help Line 915," he added.

He said that ITP was utilising all-out efforts to facilitate the general public and not only issuing traffic violation tickets to the PSVs for overcharging and non-completion of route but also canceling the driving license of the drivers who are found involved in same violation time and again.

ITP education wing, Rasheed said, was sensitizing the drivers, conductors as well as transporters to avoid misbehaving with the passengers and abide by the traffic laws.

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