Chandigarh, May 14 (IANS): The Haryana government has decided to start special bus services on selected routes from Friday to facilitate the people stranded within the state due to lockdown, an official said on Thursday.

For this, the passengers need to get an online ticket.

The buses will ply only within the state and will not operate in areas severely affected with Covid-19.

A government spokesperson said ticket bookings could only be purchased through portal hartrans.gov.in.

The buses will operate from the state transport bus stands to the scheduled bus stands. No passengers will be allowed to board or disembark the bus within the journey.

The buses passing through Covid-19 affected districts will pass through a bypass or flyovers. A maximum of 30 passengers with onboard will be allowed by following social distancing norms. Thermal screening of passengers will be done before entering the bus stand.

Wearing of masks will be mandatory, without which they will not be allowed to board the bus, he said.

If the bus movement is not possible on any route due to any reason, the bus will be cancelled and passengers will be informed two hours before the scheduled time of departure. The fare will be refunded accordingly, the spokesperson added.