Humiliation of Chitrali passengers continues

PESHAWAR, Nov 12: Not only Chitrali passengers have become hostage in the hands of transporters inside Chitral, they also face humiliation at the Peshawar bus terminal. It is a common issue that whenever petroleum product prices are raised by a few rupees the transporters miss no time to hike their fares. But after the recent drastic cut in the prices in which petrol rate was brought down by about 10 rupees by liter, the transporters made excuses and did not pass on the benefit to the passengers. Though transporters all over the country fleece commuters on different pretexts, it seems they come under no law in Chitral as they fix fares and charge the commuters on their own.  Recently, the Chitral administration fixed the fare to Peshawar at 735 rupees but it was never implemented by the transporters. It has been learnt that the transporters are now charging Rs900 per passenger from Peshawar to Chitral. A visit to the Peshawar bus terminal always shows Chitral passengers waiting along the wall for catching vehicles to Chitral as there is even no waiting room for them. At the time of departure, they are crammed into the vehicle after making them to pay even for a handbag. Due to the overloading, sometimes two passengers have to share a single seat after paying the full fare. People of Chitral say that there should be a separate bus terminal for the Chitralis in Peshawar and the government should rein in on the transporters so that they  followed the official fares in letter and spirit.]]>