Ahead of Eid: Pressure mounts on transportation as people head home before Eid

Thousands of people leave Lahore to celebrate religious festival with families

LAHORE: With the holy month of Ramazan coming to a close, pressure has started mounting on transport services as thousands of individuals, who work in the city, head home to be with their loved ones to celebrate Eidul Fitr.

There are a lot of people at different bus terminals throughout the city and the Lahore railway station and this tempo is expected to continue till Sunday night as Eid is expected on Monday.

Govt announces three-day Eid holiday

Departures from Lahore started to pick up on Tuesday and will continue to escalate in the timeframe.

Although the government at both provincial and federal levels have announced three holidays (June 26 till June 28), it is evident that employees of both private and public sectors have taken extra leaves to maximise the time they spend with their families and friends.

Federal Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafiq, on Thursday, directed all officials concerned to ensure given schedule and cleanliness of trains during holidays.

Railways Police IG Munir Ahmad Chishti had also prepared a detailed plan for security of railway stations and track.

According to an estimate, Lahore is a city of over 12 million people and a significant number of people leave the city to celebrate Eid with families at their home towns. It is a pity that during this time, transporters overcharge and fleece passengers right, left and centre. Transport authorities have been unable to check this annual trend of exploitation amid heavy overpricing.

However, transporters, commuting to cities outside Lahore, feel their actions are justifiable because of the lack of passengers on the return journey to Lahore on occasion of the festival. Complaints of extra charging tend to be mainly registered against unfamiliar companies and individual operators.  Some prominent transport companies like Daewoo, Belal Daewoo, Faisal Movers, Niazi Express and others usually charge the standard fare to their customers, said a commuter, Amir Baig.

Traders demand more security ahead of Eid

Railways

According to railways spokesman, PR will provide transport facility to around 500,000 passengers. It has issued a schedule of the five special trains that will run from different cities and will accommodate passengers travelling to their home towns. The first Eid train will leave Karachi for Peshawar on June 23 (today), while the second one will depart from Quetta for Rawalpindi the same day.

The third train will leave Karachi on June 24 for Lahore, while the fourth will start its journey between Rawalpindi and Multan on June 25. The fifth and final special train will leave Multan for Rawalpindi on June 28. Additional coaches will also be added to the routine trains to accommodate the Eid passengers. The Railways has also offered online booking for these special trains.

PIA

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has also announced 25% fare cut on all domestic flights that are booked for the three days of Eidul Fitr. The airline is expecting more passengers during Eid days by offering discounted tickets.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 23^rd, 2017.