Extortion at Eid

This is a yearly phenomenon. In fact, it is at least a bi-annual one as the same happens at Eid-ul-Fitr as well, and though not so marked, there are also similar problems ahead of other holidays and celebrations.

The whole process of struggling to find a ticket and most likely having to pay many times the face price of the ticket to a tout, if indeed a ticket can even be located, leaves a bad taste in the mouth, and is the antithesis of the spirit of Eid.

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That touts and transport operators should take advantage of the public at such a time is deplorable. The transport operators and authorities know that at such times there is a huge demand for tickets for people going home for the holidays. Year after year, there is this shortfall, but nothing has ever been done to correct the situation.

The reason for this is that the transport operators can raise their prices many times by creating an artificial crisis. The fact that they have a duty to provide services to their customers does not occur to them. Nor does the fact that to exploit people at such a time of year is a disgrace. The touts who work either for the operators or in syndicates of their own also make money hand over fist, as do the authorities who turn a blind eye.

It is only the public who suffers. Taking advantage of the public in this manner is nothing more than legalised extortion. The government should have taken steps long ago to protect the interest of the public and to regulate the transport operators to ensure that there is sufficient transport available and that ticket prices are not raised sky-high. A little attention to the matter would do the trick.