Gurugram: What began as a dispute between a Haryana Police constable and employees of a Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation (RSRTC) bus evolved into a wider issue between the two neighbouring states, causing significant difficulties to commuters on several busy routes. On Monday, Haryana Transport Minister Anil Vij said the issue had been resolved.
It began Saturday after a video of a Haryana Police constable refusing to pay the fare of Rs 50 on a Rajasthan Roadways bus, claiming she was entitled to travel for free because she was in the police, was shared widely on social media. In the video, the conductor can be heard asking her to either pay the fine or deboard the bus.
The incident appeared to spark a tit-for-tat traffic challan row. According to a source in the Haryana Transport Department, Rajasthan Police issued challans for 87 Haryana Roadways buses, mostly Sunday, after Haryana fined 90 Rajasthan Roadways buses Saturday. State Roadways buses are seldom fined, and this appeared to be more targeted.
According to the source, six buses, including four from the Narnaul Depot and one from Dadri, were also impounded in Rajasthan. Haryana cops did not issue any challans for RSRTC buses Sunday, the source said.
The row affected commuters after buses from Haryana on several popular routes, including those going to Jaipur, Churu, and other important Rajasthan cities, did not ply Monday after bus drivers refused to make the journeys in light of the increased challans.
The same did not appear to be true for Rajasthan buses travelling to or via Haryana. Chhoti Lal Meena, personal assistant of the Deputy General Manager (Administration) in the Rajasthan State Road Corporation told ThePrint that their buses were going to Haryana as usual.
On Monday, Haryana Transport Minister Anil Vij Monday told media persons in Ambala that the issue had been resolved and the Haryana Roadways buses had resumed their services to Rajasthan. Later, the state Information and Public Relations Department also issued a press note, quoting Vij, saying that the matter had been resolved through talks between senior officers of the two states.
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‘No buses on Haryana-Rajasthan route Monday’
According to Sarbat Singh Punia, vice president of the All-India Road Transport Workers Federation, said that no buses plied from Haryana to Rajasthan Monday.
“Challan of vehicles is a routine, but in this case, the police from both the states were issuing challan out of revenge much to the detriment of the Roadways’ workers,” Punia told ThePrint.
Punia explained that in case of fines for over-speeding or driving in the wrong lane, the bus driver is made to pay the fine amount. In case a fine is issued for exceeding the bus’s capacity, the fine has to be paid by the conductor.
“Our buses have a capacity of 52 seats. But many times the buses have to carry up to 100 passengers in a bus. The Roadway’s workers don’t gain anything out of it. It is only because the buses are too few in comparison with the population that travels on buses,” Punia said.
When contacted by ThePrint, Vij confirmed that the issue flared up leading to the cancellation of buses going to Rajasthan and maintained that the Principal Secretary of the Transport Department had told him Monday that the issue had been resolved and the bus services had been resumed.
ThePrint also reached out to Navdeep Virk, principal secretary of the Haryana Transport Department, via calls and WhatsApp messages. The story will be updated once he responds.
How the issue began
In the video that went viral on Saturday, a woman constable of the Haryana Police in uniform, with her face covered, can be sitting on the bus. The conductor can be heard telling her that if she wants to travel on the bus, she must pay, or deboard. The constable is adamant that she will not do either. The dispute reportedly occurred in a bus to Haryana’s Dharuhera.
An official of the Haryana Roadways told ThePrint on condition of anonymity that Haryana Police personnel are authorised to travel free on Haryana Roadways buses whenever they are on official duty but that they have to carry the appropriate document.
“For this, they have to carry an authorisation letter from their office that shows the nature of duty they are on.”
He added, “However, the cops generally tend to travel for free while on their way to their office from their home or back which is not allowed. The conductors of the Haryana Roadways generally ignore this and allow them to travel in the buses for free. However, the same can not be expected from the conductors of the buses of other states.”
In what appeared to be a response to the incident, Haryana Police issued challans for around 90 RSRTC buses the same day, Punia said. Several internet users posted pictures of the Haryana Police personnel issuing challans for RSRTC buses, alleging that it looked like they were using it as a photo-op.
The following day, Rajasthan Police issued challans to 87 Haryana Roadways buses, imposing an average fine of 7,000 rupees per impounded Roadways bus, according to Punia. He said, normally, nearly 400 Haryana Roadways buses travel to Rajasthan daily.
Rajasthan’s districts of Hanumangarh, Churu, Jhunjhunu, Sikar, Alwar, and Bharatpur share their boundaries with Haryana’s districts of Sirsa, Fatehabad, Hisar, Bhiwani, and Mahendragarh and a large number of people travel across the state on both sides.
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)
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Traffic police (Haryana or Rajasthan) in action..
This shows that if Traffic police works than there are less chances of accidents..
Traffic rules are not only for Aam Aadmi and should be applied to all..
We can see many cases daily where aam aadmi is fined for Traffic rules violation while others are not even stopped for checking., be it Zomato or swiggy guys, or general public vehicles like busses, passenger autos etc..