Amid rising Covid cases, Ludhiana bus stand authorities drop guard

At a time when the district is witnessing a spurt in Covid-19 cases, authorities at the Amar Shaheed Sukhdev Interstate Bus Terminal seem to have dropped the guard by suspending thermal screening of visitors. What’s more, visitors can be seen openly flouting the mask norms, putting their own and others’ lives at risk.

With at least 1,000 private and government-run buses departing from and entering the city, the inter-state bus stand sees a huge footfall on a daily basis, thereby increasing the chances of infection.

Harmeet Singh, a city resident who travels to Doraha every day for work, says, “Authorities should not drop guard at this point. The number of cases are increasing rapidly. With no checks in place, the chances of infection become higher and as there is barely any record of visitors or passengers, contract tracing may also prove difficult.”

Rakesh, another visitor at the bus stand, said, “With no checking in place, everyone is just responsible for themselves. Even bus conductors do not wear masks.”

While authorities stated that required steps will be taken to start screening of passengers, the buses staff claimed that it becomes difficult for them to perform their duty with a mask on.

A PRTC conductor, requesting anonymity, said, “It becomes impossible for us to speak loudly, to inform passengers about the bus destination, while wearing a mask. Also, the mask sometimes causes itching due to the scorching heat.”

Station supervisor Jasvir Sahota said, “The administration had deployed special staff for conducting thermal screening of visitors. I will check why it has been discontinued. Further, our staff members continuously ask visitors to wear masks and police have also been issuing challans to violators at the bus stand.”