PESHAWAR: The transporters on Tuesday staged a protest against the government for not providing jobs to local transporters and helpers in the TransPeshawar, the public sector company operating the newly established public transport in Peshawar.
Speaking to the protesting transporters, Muttahida Transport Workers Federation President Noor Muhammad said that they were forced to stage a protest against the government for what he said unjust handling of the local transport.
“The government had promised to provide jobs to drivers and helpers of the local transport in the Bus Rapid Transport but hired staff from outside. Even the security staff was hired from outside,” he complained.
The government had set the compensation Rs14, 10,000 for each wagon and Rs15, 10,000 for the bus but had now conveyed to transporters that full amount would not be paid to them.
He said now the government wanted to pay them from Rs800,000 to 900,000.
“We would not pay the fines for lack of permits as it was the government that had stopped issuing permits since 2012,” he added.
The transporter claimed that Transport Minister Shah Muhammad had agreed that transporters would not pay the fine as the government had stopped the permits.
He said that the government had pledged proper compensation to the local transporters before launching the Bus Rapid Transit but it had not honoured the pledge.
The transporter claimed that the Asian Development Bank and KP government had agreed that the affected stakeholders would get compensation and jobs.
He said transporters had requested the Chiefu Justice of Pakistan to vacate the stay in the investigation into the BRT to fix responsibility for the alleged corruption in the mega project.
Peshawar Transport Union President Almas Khalil claimed that the BRT service operation had been handed to Daewoo. He said the government backtracked from the promises made with transporters.
He maintained that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had no industries to adjust these workers. The government had purchased around 450 vehicles but had not made payments for the vehicles, the transporter leader said.
He claimed that as per the agreement the government was bound to purchase all vehicles.
The transporters said Punjab has a strong industrial sector, which could have easily adjusted the local transporters after the metro construction but they still allowed local transport to ply roads.
“We had even requested the government to check the conditions of our vehicles and allow those vehicles which were in good condition. The government should realize that residents of this province had already suffered due to joblessness,” he concluded.
