Lack of public transport

The State government has permitted all offices, both public and private, to function with full attendance of staff in lockdown 4.0. Many office-goers depend on public transport for commuting to their respective work places. Though ASTC is operating some buses in Guwahati and very few private buses are also plying all with 50% capacity. However, these are grossly inadequate to cope with the increasing number of passengers. Though the buses are available in the morning, the frequency is very long. By the afternoon, the services get reduced drastically and commuters, worried about the impending curfew, wait endlessly for buses. Ironically, during this period, many empty ASTC buses are seen speeding away. Some bus operators say that they wind up early so that they can reach home before curfew.

Either the government has to revisit the instructions on offices or augment the bus services sufficiently to ease the commuting problems in the city. Otherwise this attempt by the government to give an impression of normalcy will be exposed as a gimmick.

Rajib Sarma,

Gandhibasti, Guwahati.