DERA ISMAIL KHAN: The transporters on Wednesday protested the shifting of general bus stand to main bus terminal located outside the city. The transporters union had given the protest call as the Tehsil Municipal Administration(TMA) Dera had decided to shift the decades old bus stand to Korai, a vicinity area some 10 kilometers on Tank Road.
The union halted transport service to Zhob, Wana, Tank, Daraban, Waziristan and other areas for an indefinite period. The commuters suffered immensely due to the protest. Most of them hired cars for traveling. The local administration a couple of years back acquired land and established a big terminal stretching on several acres of land some 10 kms from city on Tank Road. The transporters offered stiff resistance to shifting of bus stand outside the city. It is worth mentioning that a couple of years back local administration acquired land for constructing terminal to reduce traffic on city roads. The TMA repeatedly attempted to shift the bus services to new bus terminal but the plan could not be materialized by the civic body due to strong resistance on the part of local transporters. The district administration fed up with the confusion over the issue finally issued strict warning to shift the bus stand at any cost to new terminal.
The TMA on Wednesday launched operation. The excavation machinery was brought to dig trenches on the exit and entry portions of the old bus stand. The operation was monitored by Tehsil Municipal Officer Umar Khan Kundi who was also accompanied by contingents of local police to cope with any untoward situation.
