More than 17,000 stranded people travel within Assam

More than 17,000 people stranded in different parts of Assam travelled to their homes within the state by buses and personal vehicles on Saturday, the first day of the three-day movement allowed by the state government during the lockdown.

State Transport Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary flagged off the buses carrying passengers from the Inter-State Bus Terminus (ISBT) here to different districts.

Patowary said 300 buses plied on the first day from different districts, carrying over 5,000 stranded people.

More than 70,000 stranded people have been allowed by the state government, in accordance with the guidelines of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), to move within the state either by Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC) buses or personal vehicles to their homes or workplaces for three days from Saturday.

Patowary said the social-distancing norms are bering maintained and the buses are carrying up to 50 per cent of their capacity.

It is also mandatory for all passengers to wear masks and gloves while travelling, he added.

The district transport officers (DTOs) have been directed to ensure a safe and smooth journey of the passengers, Patowary said.

The call centre received 41,651 calls from people in different districts, who wanted to take the buses to reach their homes and the ASTC made arrangements for their travel free of cost.

Individual bus tickets with travel details were sent on WhatsApp to the passengers the night before the journey, the minister said.

The remaining people will receive their tickets a day before their travel, he added.

"The task is huge and I appeal to people to have patience. We will take steps to ensure that these 41,651 people reach their destinations," Patowary said.

More than 12,000 people travelled in their vehicles on the first day with e-passes provided by the deputy commissioners (DCs) of the respective districts.

The DCs have issued one-way e-passes to 31,206 people to travel in their personal vehicles with 12,206 travelling on the first day.

The passes for the remaining 19,000 people have been staggered over the next two days, the minister said.

The DCs had received over 51,000 requests for passes to travel by personal vehicles, but more than 19,000 were rejected as the reasons were not considered an emergency as specified by the MHA.

People from the five "Red Zone" districts -- Dhubri, Nalbari, Goalpara, Morigaon and Golaghat -- are not allowed to travel out of the districts but incoming passengers are allowed.

Those stranded in another district can return home and these movements will only be one-way for home-bound and office-bound people as many state government offices have reopened, Patowary said.

Patients requiring visit to hospitals and their attendants will also be issued passes by the DCs, who will examine the applications.