Happy Cards do not bring joy to bus passengers in Haryana

Anil Kakkar

Sirsa, June 21

The state government has introduced the Happy Card scheme for poor families to facilitate their travel on roadways buses.

Nearly 1,25,000 Happy Cards have been issued in the district. However, many people are not getting the benefit of the scheme. Despite having the cards, travellers have to pay for their journeys because the cards are not being scanned.

The Happy Card scheme is for poor families with an income of less than Rs 1 lakh. Beneficiaries can travel up to 1,000 km for free on Haryana Roadways buses each year. Additional counters have been set up at the district bus stand to distribute the cards.

The beneficiaries get a Happy Card after providing an OTP for Rs 50. However, many people report that the cards are not being scanned during travel, forcing them to buy tickets.

Surendra Kumar, a resident of Sirsa, said he had to show his Happy Card to the conductor on his way to Hanumangarh from Fatehabad, but it was not scanned on the e-ticketing machine.

He said at the end, he had to buy a ticket.

Rama Devi, a passenger, said she had a hard time getting the Happy Card and when she used it, the card did not work. Rama Devi said the “not found” message appeared on the machine. Despite having the card, she had to pay for her journey to Hisar, she added.

Navdeep Singh, General Manager, Roadways, Sirsa, said some elderly conductors struggle to scan the cards.

“All conductors are trained in using Happy Cards and now, a tutorial video has been shared with the roadways employees through WhatsApp. ,” he added.