As Covid scene turns worse, private bus operators failing to observe SOP

ANANTAPUR: As the Indian Railways may not resume its normal operations and general tickets are not available at any railway station, passengers have no alternative other than hiring taxi or travel by private buses for interstate journeys.

Private transport operators are not complying with the regulations set by the governments. They are not checking passengers with thermal scanners and sanitizers are not provided at the boarding points.

Lack of minimum preventive steps by private travel agencies and APSRTC for their services results in a rise in the spread of Covid-19 virus to urban areas and also the interiors. A traveller Dr Suresh who travelled to Hyderabad from Anantapur on Thursday night observed lapses on the part of travel agencies.  

Recalling the experience, Dr. Suresh said he booked a ticket through a private travel agency to travel to Hyderabad from Anantapur on Thursday night.

“When I entered the bus, there were no preventive steps in place. He said all the transport operators should follow the standard operations procedure (SOP) under the Epidemic Diseases Act.

Considering the duration from the present level of the daily new cases to the peak India saw last year, the country is likely to reach the high in the second half of April. The second wave, which could last until the end of May, could see an additional of 25 lakh cases if the present trends are taken into consideration.

“Though the global Covid-19 experience shows the second wave was much higher in intensity than the first wave, the presence of vaccine makes the difference now,” Dr Suresh said.