Passengers, drivers and their helpers were found not wearing mask, visor or gloves

BAGLUNG, OCTOBER 4

Public vehicles here have been found flouting health and safety measures despite rapid increase in coronavirus cases across the country.

A monitoring team comprising Transport Management Office, District Administration Office and District Police Office said both drivers and passengers were careless about adopting adequate safety measures while travelling.

The team monitored vehicles at Maldhunga, the border of Maglung and Parbat yeseterday, and at Ratmata along the Mid- Hill Highway and revealed this fact. Among 155 vehicles checked by the team, 23 per cent were carrying more passengers than assigned by the government causing lack of social distancing.

Similarly, some passengers, drivers and their help were found not wearing masks. Almost all drivers and their helpers did not use visor and gloves, said chief of Transport Management Office, Parsing Thapa. He added that 15.67 per cent vehicles did not have sanitisers either.

“In both public and private vehicles, health and safety measures are not followed,” Thapa said, adding that drivers and passengers were instructed to adopt safety measures. Moreover, some drivers were found overcharging passengers.

The office mentioned that vehicles carrying more than 50 per cent passengers, those without legitimate documents and those fleecing passengers would face action. Vehicle owners who had not paid tax were also asked to appear in the office.

The monitoring team also distributed masks and awareness materials on health and safety in view of the growing cases of coronavirus.

The inspection was conducted on the basis of seven indicators set in the Public Transport Operation Guideline-2020, formulated in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Feature image: File

A version of this article appears in e-paper on October 5, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.