SUKKUR - Provincial Minister for Transport, Sindh, Syed Awais Qadir Shah on Tuesday has said the Government of Sindh has decided to allow resumption of public transport with strict implementation of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) from Wednesday.
The Minister said the public transport would be resumed from tomorrow and a monitoring and inspection team had been formed to ensure implementation of the SOPs.
According to SOPs, transporters would not be allowed to accommodate more passengers than the seating capacity of the bus and wearing masks would be compulsory, notification said.
Speaking on the occasion, Sindh Transport Minister Owais Shah said that intercity transport would be resumed in all cities of Sindh from Wednesday, June 3, but transporters would be required to strictly follow the Standard Operating Procedures. He said that transporters who did not not comply with the Standard Operating Procedures set by the government would not be allowed to operate. The provincial transport minister said that at present intercity transport was not being allowed to operate. Awais Shah said that detailed discussions had been held with the transporters and they had given full assurance that they would implement the Standard Operating Procedures issued by the government.
It is pertinent to mention here, Sindh Minister stated that action would be taken if it was discovered that masks and sanitizers were not present in any public transport vehicle. He added that the notification regarding the resumption of public transport would be issued tonight.
Sindh Government had also allowed online transport services to resume operations as well, however, with proper guidelines in place. As per the SOPs, only two people in a car at a time would be allowed to travel, said the minister.
“One more person can be added in an emergency situation,” said the minister. He added that they would be allowed to resume operations on a seat by seat basis.
Meanwhile, President Karachi Transport Ittihad (KTI) Irshad Bukhari said that he was thankful to Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah for allowing transport services in the metropolis.
“After two and a half months transport is resuming,” he said, adding: “We will make it mandatory for drivers and conductors to wear masks and gloves.”
The KTI president said they would ensure that passengers were sitting a seat apart.
“A meeting of transporters has been convened to discuss the latest development,” he said. “Everyone has been asked to follow SOPs [...] If they allow anyone to sit on the roof and their vehicle is impounded we won’t help them.”
The Government of Sindh on Friday had stated that the Standard Operating Procedures for public transport, including ride-hailing apps for taxis and buses, had been prepared so that commuting services could resume weeks after Prime Minister Imran Khan announced an ease in the coronavirus lockdown. Last month, the Sindh Government had refused to resume transport services while its Khyber Pakhtunkhwa counterpart had announced the reopening of all public transport, following in Punjab’s footsteps.
Hospital suspends services after virus cases surface
Hilal-e-Ahmar Cardiac hospital Hyderabad has been closed for two days after 12 employees including doctors were tested positive for coronavirus on Tuesday.
According to report, twelve doctors and other staff members out of total 60 employees of the hospital have been tested positive for COVID-19 after which hospital was closed for two days and would be reopened after disinfecting it.
The management of Hilal-e-Ahmar said the hospital would be reopened after completing disinfecting process.