PHOTO: FILE
PESHAWAR: Life, typically, has turn out to be the prime sufferer of the COVID-19 outbreak everywhere in the world.
In a stark indication of how the coronavirus pandemic has introduced city life to a standstill, ridership plunged considerably on the key intercity transportation system in Peshawar, days earlier than it was utterly banned by the federal government.
The bustling bus terminal within the provincial capital, which is often identified to commuters because the Lahore Bus Station, is now abandoned.
“People were not travelling due to the fear,” stated one commuter. Normally busy, the key bus terminal is never so quiet and lifeless. It permits 1000’s of commuters to shuttle from Peshawar to different cities throughout the nation.
“This is a very important terminal. It is the most commonly used channel that connects the commuters from Peshawar with other cities in the country,” stated Ali Saeed Bacha, the caretaker of the terminal.
The federal government, Bacha stated, didn’t present the administration of the terminal with any screening tools whereas it was open. “We needed thermo-guns and hand sanitizers for the passengers,” stated Bacha.
With coronavirus spreading throughout the nation, largely by way of commuters and travellers, Bacha cautioned: “The government should make long term arrangements to provide screening at the terminal.”
Speaking in regards to the dwindling variety of commuters earlier than the entire shut down of the terminal, a driver on the terminal identified that passengers selected to not journey as a result of concern of coronavirus, which to this point has 80 confirmed instances in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa).
“Exposure for drivers and conductors to all sorts of people from all over the country was also very high,” claimed Abdul Samad, an area driver. With many cities now underneath lockdown, transit methods have taken the hit
Whereas the workers on the terminal are involved in regards to the basic wellbeing of passengers sooner or later, commuters are irked over the restricted transportation choices. “I’m stranded and can not travel back to Karachi due to limited services,” stated one passenger, who was anxious to return to the southern port metropolis.
Days earlier than the provincial authorities in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa imposed strict journey restrictions, ridership had already tumbled by 70%, in response to one estimate.
Commenting on the problem, a provincial authorities official aware of the matter stated, the federal government has imposed an entire ban to attenuate the unfold of the virus. “People must exercise appropriate caution in public spaces,” he official stated, talking on the situation of anonymity.
Revealed in The Specific Tribune, March 28th, 2020.
