As railways and air services remained suspended by the federal government, together with the closure of the intercity bus service by the Sindh government for almost two months, many people – particularly those who moved to Karachi for employment – could not return to their hometowns in Ramazan.
While the federal government restored railways and air services a few days ago, sources say that there is hardly any movement. According to a survey, some people, who predominantly belong to the educated class, deliberately decided not to travel because of the fear of coronavirus.
A resident of Rawalpindi, Mohammad Ahmed, said that every year, he goes home to his city from Karachi to celebrate Eid with his family, but this time he refrained from long-distance travel for the fear of catching the virus.
On the other hand, those from the working class could not go back because of the lockdown imposed by the Sindh government. Many of them hired trucks and even rickshaws to travel to their hometowns. Some of them, who could afford to pay for it, also opted for rent-a-car services to go to their cities.
Meanwhile, a railway spokesperson said that train services have been restored across the country since May 20, with special attention being paid to all standard operating procedures (SOPs) to prevent the spread of the virus.
“Only 60 per cent seats are being booked to prevent the trains from getting crowded,” the spokesperson said. “We have also started online so booking in six stations, including Karachi, Lahore, Quetta, Peshawar, Rawalpindi and Multan.”
Sindh Air-conditioned Bus Owners Association’s general secretary Rauf Niazi said that despite a growing demand from people, the Sindh government has not yet restored the intercity bus services.
“Yesterday, the transporters had a meeting with the minister for transport and the secretary of transport in which they were informed that a summary of the restoration of intercity bus services has been sent to the chief minister of Sindh,” Niazi disclosed. “As soon as they are approved, the intercity bus services will be restored.”
Niazi said that even if the service is fully restored, transporters would not be able to provide the services as Eid is expected to fall on May 24.
