Transporters go on strike against fuel price hike

KARACHI: The transport strike in the metropolis has added to the miseries of the Karachiites as they waited for hours for the buses to reach their destinations. The transporters have called for the strike against fuel price hike.

Anjuman-e-Ettehad Bus Malikan Karachi on Wednesday announced to fully support the strike call of Karachi Transport Ittehad and demanded immediate reduction in diesel prices. Anjuman-e-Ettehad Bus Malikan president Muhammad Ashraf Banglori and other leaders warned if the government ignored their one-day strike, they would opt for strike for indefinite period.

Though less in numbers, Green buses and CNG buses were plying on the roads and the rikshaw and taxi owners were charging extra from the commuters.

Our correspondent Qadeer Tanoli adds: On February 28, Karachiites endured great hardship when petrol pumps closed ahead of an increase in fuel prices; today they will suffer more as transporters go on an indefinite strike to protest against the hike.

The transporters have gone ahead with their decision to strike though the provincial government has told them that the fuel price hike is being reconsidered by the federal government.

However, a top transport official in the Sindh government claimed on Wednesday that a large number of mini-buses and coaches would not take part in the strike.

President Karachi Transporters Ittehad (KTI) Irshad Bukhari told The News that they were determined to go on strike till the government withdrew the increase in prices of petroleum products.

He said high-ranking officials such as Minister for Transport Akhtar Jadoon and Adviser to the Chief Minister Rashid Rabbani held discussions with transporters to resolve the issue, but the negotiations failed. He added that the transporters continued to hold certain reservations over the issue.

On the other hand, Secretary for Transport Iqbal Bablani told The News that he believed the transporters could not afford to go on strike for an indefinite period due to financial and economic problems. He said a large number of buses ran on CNG and they would not be part of the strike.

Bablani also claimed that a large number of owners of mini-buses, coaches and long-route buses assured the government that they would not participate.

He believed that the owners of buses could not afford to keep their vehicles off the road, and said that there are differences between the transporters on the strike call due to the nature of their routes.

Responding to a query how the government intended to facilitate the general public during the strike, the secretary replied that a large percentage of buses, coaches, metro-buses, along with taxis and rickshaws, would be available to the people.

Bablani also claimed that the provincial government conveyed the reservations of the transporters to the federal government, which was seriously considering substantially decreasing fuel prices, if not completely withdrawing the increase. "Our Transport Minister Akhtar Jadoon is on a visit to Islamabad to convey the grievances of the transporters," he added.

The secretary transport was of the opinion that the strike would only last a day as the transporters would suffer if they decided to continue it for an indefinite period. He said that was a common observation that strike calls by the Karachi Transport Ittehad (KTI) were largely successful and that ultimately it was the general public which suffered. The KTI on its letterhead names the associations of owners of mini-buses and different coaches as its members, besides the owners of buses.