People throng Karnal Depot to get ‘Happy Cards’ for free travel
Parveen Arora
Karnal, June 11
The Haryana Roadways office at the Karnal Depot witnessed a massive turnout in two days as residents thronged the premises to obtain their Haryana Antyodaya Parivar Parivahan Yojana (HAPPY) cards for free travel.
Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini started this scheme and distributed ‘Happy Cards’— national common mobility card (NCMC) — under the Happy Scheme of the Department of Transport of Haryana at a state-level function organised at Dr Mangal Sen Auditorium in the city on June 7. The card provides the facility of free travel of upto 1,000 km/year to poor families on government buses.
After the launching of the scheme, people from various parts of the district rushed to the depot, leading to chaos throughout the day. Officials of the Karnal Depot were on their toes throughout the day managing the large crowds and ensuring smooth issuance and activation of the Happy Cards. Despite the high number of applicants, the staff worked tirelessly, maintaining order and assisting people with their applications. To distribute the cards, the department has decided to open the office on holidays — Saturday and Sunday.As the distribution process continues, the Haryana Roadways authorities claim that they are fully equipped to handle the demand and provide seamless service to all applicants.
“So far, there are 61,000 activated cards in the district and we have distributed 2,019 of these,” said Kuldeep Singh, GM, Haryana Roadways, Karnal Depot. “We are happy with the enthusiastic response from the public. Our team is working diligently to ensure that everyone receives their cards without any hassle. We have set up additional counters and deployed more staff to manage the rush effectively. We will activate these cards on Saturday and Sunday,” the GM added. Many applicants expressed their satisfaction after getting the cards and said the system should be more streamlined. “I am happy with this initiative. The process should be quicker,” said 60-year-old man, who came there to get a card.
