Port Blair, Jan 04: The Member of Parliament of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Mr. Kuldeep Rai Sharma has requested the Chief Secretary to operate a couple of extra buses on busy routes, during ‘before office’ and ‘after office’ hours so that government servants, office goers and other staff of private Institutions can report to the duty on time and go back home without any hardship.
In a letter addressed to the Chief Secretary, the Member of Parliament requested to continue the services of these extra buses till the restrictions on passenger capacity on buses are in place.
He noted in his letter that considering the recent surge in Covid-19 cases, the Andaman Nicobar Administration has taken some preventive steps to contain the spread of Covid-19 virus and Omicron variant in Andaman Nicobar Islands, which is highly appreciated. Infact, the timely action of Andaman Nicobar Administration will save thousands of people from Covid-19 infection, he said.
He pointed out that among many such measures, the Transport Department has allowed public transport buses to operate with only 70% of the capacity.
In this regard, the MP noted that some government servants and staffs of various a private Institutions and shops are facing huge inconvenience to reach their respective workplaces, especially those who are living away from Port Blair city, like Tushnabad, Ograbraj, Chouldari, Sippighat, Chidiyatapu, Calicut etc areas.
He said that in the morning hours due to restriction in the capacity of buses, many buses are not taking excess passengers and because of this many office going people are unable to reach their workplace. A large number of government servants are finding themselves totally helpless.
Pointing out that absence of government servants or private staffs from duty will certainly leave a negative impact on the overall performance of Andaman and Nicobar Administration and business organizations, the Member of Parliament demanded extra buses on busy routes, during ‘before office’ and ‘after office’ hours.
