ISLAMABAD: Authorities have decided to resume the Metro Bus Service between Rawalpindi and Islamabad from Wednesday (today), which was suspended due to violent protests in the city.
The Metro bus service was suspended due to protests by religious and political parties but will be resumed after the calls was withdrawn after negotiations from the government.
The bus service will run from Saddar Rawalpindi to Pak Secretariat. The service from Saddar to Faizabad was earlier closed due to the rising cases of the coronavirus while the service from Faizabad to Pak Secretariat due to protests.
Metro bus service was completely shut down on April 12 due to protests by a religious parties. Due to protests and sit-ins, the metro bus project has suffered a loss of Rs20 million.
The protests also damaged automatic doors, mirrors, sensors and other equipment of the bus at Liaquat Bagh and Committee Chowk metro stations. However, the Metro bus service will be restored after the announcement to end all protests
The Punjab government has restored intra-city public transport in the province. The government suspended Metro Bus, Orange Line Metro Train, Speedo Bus and other services earlier this month in Lahore.
The decision was taken in view of rising number of coronavirus infections in the province. However, the Punjab government has now restored these services with strict implementation of the virus SOPs.
The development comes at a time when the country is battling a raging third wave of coronavirus infections.
Pakistan reported 137 deaths and 5,500 fresh cases of the virus in the last 24 hours. More than a hundred death were reported from Punjab alone. The virus has so far claimed 16,453 lives in the country.
