Captain Amarinder Singh lifts passenger 50 percent capacity restriction on Punjab buses, wearing masks mandatory

Amid increase in fuel prices which had made public transportation unviable, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has announced lifting of the restrictions on the passenger capacity in all buses, including mini buses. He also made it clear that masks would have to be mandatorily worn by all those travelling in the buses. The Chief Minister made the announcement in response to a question by a Hariyau Khurd resident regarding problems faced in commuting to Patra due to non-availability of buses. Earlier, the state government had allowed plying of buses with 50 percent capacity on account of the coronavirus crisis. In his Facebook Live, the Chief Minister said that he had learnt that buses were refusing to ply with restricted capacity due to the financial losses it entails, especially in the current situation when the prices of petrol and diesel are going up on a daily basis. This was causing problems to the commuters, he added. He also stressed on the need to strictly adhere to the mandatory wearing of masks, which can reduce the spread of coronavirus by 70 percent. Also Read | Punjab set to cap COVID charges in private hospitals, says Captain Amarinder Singh On the issue of petrol and diesel price hike, the Chief Minister said that the Congress Working Committee (CWC) had already passed a resolution and he hoped the central government would roll back the increase. -PTC News