Chandigarh, Jun 27 (IANS): Amid the spiralling increase in fuel prices which had made public transportation unviable, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Saturday announced lifting of the restrictions on the passenger capacity in all buses, including mini buses, but made it clear that masks would have to be mandatorily worn by all those travelling in the buses.

Chief Minister made the announcement in response to a question by a resident regarding problems faced in commuting due to non-availability of buses.

The state government had earlier allowed plying of buses with 50 per cent capacity on account of the Covid crisis.

At today's #AskCaptain edition on Facebook Live, Chief Minister said he had learnt that buses were refusing to ply with restricted capacity due to the financial losses it entails, especially in the current situation when the prices of petrol and diesel are going up on a daily basis.

This was causing problems to the commuters, he added, but stressed on the need to strictly adhere to the mandatory wearing of masks, which can reduce the spread of Covid by 70 per cent.

On the issue of petrol and diesel price hike, he said the Congress Working Committee (CWC) had already passed a resolution and he hoped the Central government would roll back the increase.