People start returning after celebrating Eid

Islamabad :A typical post-Eid hustle and bustle was witnessed on Tuesday at bus terminals of Faizabad and Pirwadhai, the main junctions of twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, as people started returning after celebrating Eidul Azha at their respective hometowns.

The bus stands were giving a crowdy and festive look with arrival of passengers, who came back from different areas of the country after spending eid holidays with their near and dear ones.

The government had announced four gazetted holidays from Friday to Monday (September 1-4) for Eidul Azha, so majority people left their hometowns on Monday night to join their offices, work stations and send their children to schools, colleges and universities on Tuesday.

Amir Hussain, a passenger at Faizabad, said transporters were charging extra fares in the name of 'Eidi' as they knew that people were compelled to travel and reach their destinations on time.

He said authorities concerned should take action to stop this blackmailing by `transport mafia,' who are minting extra money on such occasions. Meanwhile, taxicab drivers were seemed a little perturbed as a good number of passengers opted for online cab service for hustle-free ride to their respective destinations in the twin cities.

Usually, a passenger has to face great hardship to find suitable regular cab and negotiate with its driver for reasonable fare, but now with introduction of the online service an environment of competition has been put in place.

Maqsood Ahmed, a passenger who arrived at Faizbad from Multan along with his family, told APP that he has hired an air-conditioned car through the online service for the Swan camp area with an estimated fare of Rs350 to Rs400. For which, the other taxi drivers are demanding Rs650 to Rs700. Similarly, another passenger Irfan Munir said he took a ride at the online cab from Model Town (Humak), picked up his family from Pirwadhai bus terminal and returned back, covering a distance of almost 60 kilometres.

"The total fare was just Rs520, otherwise I had to pay Rs1,000 or Rs1200 for the journey in regular taxicabs," he said. Sajjad Ahmed, a regular taxi-driver, agreed that some of his colleagues demand extremely high fare from passengers in a bid to make their 'daily' in just two to three trips, which is not fair. "We need to keep the cab wheel moving with reasonable fare, especially when we are competing with the online service," he said.