Punjab govt suspends public transport on motorways

In effort to curb the spread of Covid-19 during the current wave of the pandemic, the Punjab government has suspended the use of public transport on motorways.

The restrictions on public transport were announced on the recommendation of the National Command and Operation Centre.

The restriction has been placed on 15 districts, including Lahore, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Multan, Khanewal, Mianwali, Sargodha, Khushab, Bahawalpur, Gujranwala and Rahim Yar Khan. This has led to inconveience for people.

After the National Command and Operation Center advisory following which a ban on all intercity public transport has been imposed, the motorways police have deferred its recruitment drive scheduled for September 6.

The National Highway and Motorway Police said in an alert that now the recruitment drive has been rescheduled to now begin on September 20.

The tests for the recruitment drive of the sub-inspector and patrol officers were originally decided for Sep 6, however, now since the intercity public transport has been banned in the Punjab province amid Covid scare, the new date for the drive is two weeks from now.

Relevant to note today that in order to curb the Covid spread that has seen rapid across Punjab, the provincial government has imposed a temporary restriction on inter-city transport.

The restriction on all public buses travelling intra-city has been imposed till September 12 and a crackdown against those violating has begun by the motorways police.

Many private vehicle owners have reportedly been transporting people on heavy fares capitalizing on their need to go back to their hometowns from or via Lahore amid the ban on public transport.

On September 3, smart lockdowns were imposed in areas with a high positivity ratio. Other restrictions include all trade and business activities to remain suspended on Saturdays and Sundays; Essential services such as pharmacies are exempt from the restricted timings and will function 24 hours a day for the entire week; A complete ban on indoor dining; outdoor dining allowed till 10 pm; A complete ban on indoor weddings or functions, with an exception of outdoor wedding functions, with a maximum capacity of 300 guests; Public and private offices will be allowed to function normally, however, with only 50 percent attendance; The railways shall continue to operate with a maximum occupancy of 70%.

These restrictions will remain enforced until at least September 12.