JAIPUR: Following complaints of overcharging by private bus operators, the Rajasthan government will soon make arrangements for free transport for the migrant labourers to send them to their respective destinations.
Till the government formalises the plan, the migrants who want to leave will have to bear their own travel expenses and should not pay above the prescribed rates advised to them.
“We will take strict action against the guilty if even a single penny is overcharged by the private bus operators,” said Ravi Jain, transport commissioner.
There have been reports about bus operators charging upto 3-5 times higher than the usual fare forcing many to sell their belongings while others have cancelled their travel due to shortage of funds. Narrating his ordeal, Sameer Pathan of Sapoul district in Bihar paid Rs 4,500 against Rs 1,200 bus fare from Jaipur. “I didn’t have more than Rs 2,000 when I boarded the bus. I requested my supervisor in Jaipur to pay the remaining amount to the bus operator to secure my travel,” said Pathan on phone from his home.
Jain is said to have directed his flying squad team to take action against bus operators who don’t follow the fare matrix given to them.
As per the fare matrix table, passengers need to pay Rs 32 and Rs 40 per km collectively for non-AC and AC buses respectively. The scribe tried to contact transport minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas but got no response.
Since May 2, around 100 buses have been ferrying migrant workers to Bihar, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh every day. At present, the migrants are forming district-wise groups and hiring the buses themselves while taking permits from RTO.
Meanwhile, it is yet to be decided whether the state will run its own fleet of buses or allow private buses and reimburse them.
“This scheme is only for migrant workers and their families, and not for non-migrant workers,” said Jain.
Asked about how will the officials identify whether someone is a migrant worker or not, Jain replied, “From appearance, we can make out who is a shramik (worker) and who is not”.
Every day over 50 buses, including private ones hired by the state government, ferry migrant workers to Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh from Jaipur.
Till the government formalises the plan, the migrants who want to leave will have to bear their own travel expenses and should not pay above the prescribed rates advised to them.
“We will take strict action against the guilty if even a single penny is overcharged by the private bus operators,” said Ravi Jain, transport commissioner.
There have been reports about bus operators charging upto 3-5 times higher than the usual fare forcing many to sell their belongings while others have cancelled their travel due to shortage of funds. Narrating his ordeal, Sameer Pathan of Sapoul district in Bihar paid Rs 4,500 against Rs 1,200 bus fare from Jaipur. “I didn’t have more than Rs 2,000 when I boarded the bus. I requested my supervisor in Jaipur to pay the remaining amount to the bus operator to secure my travel,” said Pathan on phone from his home.
Jain is said to have directed his flying squad team to take action against bus operators who don’t follow the fare matrix given to them.
As per the fare matrix table, passengers need to pay Rs 32 and Rs 40 per km collectively for non-AC and AC buses respectively. The scribe tried to contact transport minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas but got no response.
Since May 2, around 100 buses have been ferrying migrant workers to Bihar, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh every day. At present, the migrants are forming district-wise groups and hiring the buses themselves while taking permits from RTO.
Meanwhile, it is yet to be decided whether the state will run its own fleet of buses or allow private buses and reimburse them.
“This scheme is only for migrant workers and their families, and not for non-migrant workers,” said Jain.
Asked about how will the officials identify whether someone is a migrant worker or not, Jain replied, “From appearance, we can make out who is a shramik (worker) and who is not”.
Every day over 50 buses, including private ones hired by the state government, ferry migrant workers to Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh from Jaipur.
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