Islamabad  -  Intercity terminals operating in twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi Sunday witnessed passengers’ bulge as non-local citizens left for their hometowns to celebrate the Eid-ul-Azha with their families.

The public at Peshawar Morr, Faizabad, Pirwadhai and Chungi No-26 terminals expressed disappointment over the situation and regretted that they had to wait for hours to get a bus ticket, terming it as a herculean task.

 However, some government employees had left for their native areas a day before to avoid the rush and to ensure their timely arrival so that they could buy a sacrificial animal. 

Passengers who were facing difficulties in seat reservation due to a shortage of transport said that the public transporters were charging extra money from travelers with impunity.

Talking to APP, Qasim Raza said that he was very eager to reach his home to buy a sacrificial animal as Eid was just around the corner. Awais informed that he had to reserve a seat two days earlier, as he knew about the shortage of transport. He regretted that last time he reached home just a night before Eid day due to a shortage of buses and had to buy an animal in a hurry.

Saddat Hussain while finding a bus for Gujranwala appeared to be angry over the idiosyncratic management of the bus services who were giving preference to those people who came up with some references. He said that he took a leave for Monday from his office just to avoid the rush but “I guess all the employees did the same.”

Sikandar Alam, a bus service official at Faizabad clarified that they were serving the public on ‘first come, first serve’ basis. He, however, admitted that they were facing a shortage of vehicles due to a high influx of passengers.

Meanwhile, Hassan Khalid a resident of Rawalpindi who came from Lahore said that he usually traveled in a reputed private transport services but had to embark on a local bus due to non-availability of seats.  Sharing the worst journey of his life, Hassan said: “I sat on the bus at 6 am and reached my destination at around 2 pm.” The bus left no major stop unattended from Lahore to Rawalpindi, he added.   The transporters, he claimed, were fleecing the public and demanding the extra bucks, urging the authorities concerned to be watchful against overcharging. The drivers, however, had their own reasons for over-charging from high petroleum prices to challans. Mussa Khan said, “ A big coach consumes diesel of Rs 26,000 from Rawalpindi to Lahore. Such events give us an opportunity to earn the profit for the entire year.”