look news india
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has given a big gift to the women of Uttar Pradesh on the holy festival of ‘Raksha Bandhan’, a symbol of unwavering love and trust between brothers and sisters. On the occasion of Rakshabandhan, the state government has issued restrictions for women in all categories of buses of Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC). Completely Free Bus Travel has announced. The Chief Minister has given strict instructions to the Transport Department and the Police Administration to take immediate and strict legal action against overloading on any route and arbitrariness in charging higher fares by private vehicle drivers in view of the huge rush of passengers during the festival.
Free travel facility will be available for 48 hours: Both AC and non-AC buses included
As per the official guidelines issued by the government, this free travel facility will be effective uninterruptedly for the next 48 hours starting from midnight of the eve of Rakshabandhan:
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Discounts on all categories of buses: The benefit of free travel will be available in all categories of UPSRTC buses including Ordinary (Non-AC), Janrath, Shatabdi, Volvo and Rajdhani Express.
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Zero Ticket: Women passengers will be issued zero value tickets by the conductor during the journey, so that accurate records of the number of women traveling can be maintained.
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Exemption for small children also: Small children (as per age limit) traveling with female passengers are also included in the scope of this special exemption.
Operation of more than 2,500 additional buses for the convenience of passengers.
During the festival season, the Transport Corporation has made special arrangements to control the huge crowd in major cities of the state like Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi, Prayagraj, Gorakhpur, Meerut, Agra, Bareilly and Delhi-NCR routes:
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Extra Trips: More than 2,500 additional buses will be operated on sensitive and busy routes from major bus stations.
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Leaves of drivers-conductors cancelled: To ensure that bus operations are not disrupted on any route during the festival, leaves of transport employees have been canceled and special incentive allowance has been announced for the staff providing better service.
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24×7 Control Room: All Regional Managers (RMs) have been instructed to man the helpdesks and 24-hour monitoring at bus stations.
Whip of strict action on overloading and arbitrary fare collection
CM Yogi has taken a strong stand on complaints of private bus operators, auto-taxi drivers and taxi drivers charging extra fare from passengers during festivals and putting their lives at risk by making them sit on rooftops:
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Intensive checking campaign: Joint teams of Divisional Transport Officers (RTO/ARTO) and traffic police will conduct frequent checks on national highways and major intersections.
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Permit revocation and confiscation: Along with imposing heavy fines on private operators charging fares more than the prescribed rate, vehicle permits will be cancelled.
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Zero tolerance on overloading: If buses and autos have more passengers than their capacity, clear orders have been given to immediately seize the vehicle and suspend the driver’s license.
Strong arrangements for women’s safety: Dial 112 and pink booth alert
Tight security arrangements have been made around all major bus stands and railway stations to ensure safety and smooth travel of women passengers. ‘Pink booths’ and women policemen have been deployed at bus stations. Apart from this, patrolling vehicles of UP Dial-112 will continuously patrol near the highways and bus stands so that women traveling late at night and their families do not have to face any kind of inconvenience or insecurity.
