At least 15 public vehicles have been penalised for charging high fare to passengers heading to their destinations for Dashain, Tihar and Chhath festivals.

The Department of Transport Management found the vehicles overcharging passengers during a monitoring at Thankot—an entry point to Kathmandu Valley.

The department acted on complaints that passengers are being overcharged taking advantages of the festivals, said department’s Spokesperson Gokarna Prasad Upadhyay.

“In a case, it has been found that Rs1,000 has been charged against the vehicle fare set by the department,” he said.

Those vehicles found overcharging have been fined up to Rs5,000 each, and the passengers were refunded the overcharged money, he said.

However, many passengers heading to their home for the festivals are being overcharged for want of an effective monitoring.