The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Passengers taken for a ride Law & order

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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Passengers taken for a ride Law & order

Public are not only fleeced, but forcibly
off-loaded at some point instead of actual destinations, writes L. Srikrishna

In recent days, there have been complaints from gullible passengers that many fly-by-night private bus operators cheated them and behaved in a rude manner. Passengers were not only fleeced, but forcibly off-loaded at some point instead of the actual destinations, it has come to light, police say.

Sample this. A person who boarded a bus in Chennai to Madurai was suddenly told to get down at Tiruchi. Similarly, another passenger said that the bus driver/conductor asked them to take another bus to Tirunelveli after reaching Madurai from Chennai.

“Though, the bus operator collected Rs. 450 for Chennai-Madurai ride for a semi-sleeper facility, I was woken up at around 4.15 a.m. when the bus approached Tiruchi,” said R. Rajesh, an employee working in a private company in Madurai. He also said that when he questioned the conductor at Tiruchi, he replied in a rude manner. “Either take the bus waiting outside or get down and go your way. This bus will not go to Madurai…” Mr. Rajesh said that he did not leave the issue there, but went to the Cantonment Police Station in Tiruchi and preferred a complaint.

Another passenger, who was proceeding to Tirunelveli from Chennai, described the travel as painful and horrifying. “I had to hop from one bus to another before reaching Tirunelveli.”

A woman passenger, who had to rush to attend a condolence, from Chennai to Tirunelveli, managed to get a seat in a private bus, of course at a fancy price. “As the bus reached Madurai at 7 a.m., both the driver and conductor suddenly directed all the passengers to get down outside the Maatuthavani bus stand and asked us to proceed to Tirunelveli in a government owned bus on our own.” She further said that though the tickets were meant for Tirunelveli, the manner in which they handled the passengers were quite rude and rough. “I informed a lone policeman at the integrated bus stand police outpost and I do not know whether the police acted on my complaint.” A police officer at Maatuthavani admitted that private bus operators without any proper office indulged in such acts. “Either the passengers should be on vigil or at least bring it to our notice immediately. A permanent solution to put an end to such fly-by-night operators would be an intensified raid by RTO authorities who can impound the vehicles and take action to cancel licence of the driver among others,” he added.

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