Odisha train accident: West Bengal-bound buses fined for overcharging stranded passengers

BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha transport department cracked the whip on several West Bengal-bound buses for fleecing passengers on Saturday. The buses were fined for charging exorbitant fares amid cancellation of several trains in view of the train accident in Balasore on Friday evening.

"Since many passengers were stranded at different stations in the state in view of the cancellation of trains, we received complaints of excess fare charged by West Bengal-bound passenger buses. Regional transport officers were asked to take action. During surprise checks, several buses were fined in Puri, Kalahandi, Cuttack and Chandikhol,” transport commissioner Amitabh Thakur said.

According to Puri RTO Robin Pattnaik, three Kolkata-bound buses were fined around Rs 20,500 each. Though the actual fare of a ticket from Puri to Kolkata is Rs 1,250 in a luxury bus, some passengers were forced to cough up Rs 2,000, the RTO sources said.

“We did not detain the buses as the passengers would have suffered. We issued challans to the bus operators and asked them to pay fine at the earliest. Else, the vehicles would be seized,” Pattnaik said.

The transport department said charging excess fees during times of adversity is unacceptable. “We will take strict action against bus owners, who try to make a killing out of the disaster,” another transport official said.

The Puri district administration provided food to several passengers, who were stranded at the Puri railway station after cancellation of their trains on different routes.

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