Long route transporters go on wheel-jam strike in twin cities

Rawalpindi : Thousands of passengers on Tuesday faced difficulties at all bus terminals in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad because transporters have stopped all kinds of long routes of transport.

The long route transporters when on wheel jam strike against hike in rates of token tax, challan fee, toll tax, 200 per cent increase in excise duty, and ever-increasing POL prices. The passengers remained wandering here and there at Pirwdahi Terminal, Hamrahi Terminal, Faizabad Terminal, Karachi Company Terminal, Peshawar Morr Terminal, Soan Terminal, and several other small bus and wagon terminals.

Some transporters plied non-AC buses but they too charged double or triple fares from the passengers.

All Pakistan Transport Action Committee (APTAC) Chairman Rana Muhammad Latif said that they have stopped long route transport against the hike in rates of token tax, challan fee, toll tax, and ever-increasing POL prices in the country. “Wheel jam strike will continue till acceptance of our genuine demands,” he maintained.

He rejected the ‘illegal’ increase of income tax in token tax on vehicles and announced to continue strike for an indefinite period. The transporters also demanded of the government to reduce diesel prices. They also demanded to abolish ‘illegal’ additional toll plazas and a hike in toll taxes, he said. There was an unusual rush of passengers here at Rawalpindi Railway Station due to a strike of transporters.

The local transporters of Rawalpindi and Islamabad also warned to fully participate in the strike from Wednesday. The District Regional Transport Authority (DRTA) Secretary Muhammad Rashid Ali told ‘The News’ that long route transporters were on strike. He also admitted that passengers were facing difficulties due to the transporters’ strike. “Higher authorities are trying to call off the strike and continuously negotiating with transporters,” he claimed.

Talking to ‘The News,’ several passengers who were waiting for buses at different terminals said that the government has left them in a lurch. We have been wandering here and there in search of busses and wagons to reach our destinations but in vain. But, the government was seeing the whole drama with closed eyes, they claimed. Muhammad Bashir, along with his family, Nahid Akhtar along with her two children, Jamshed Ahmed, Sarfraz Ahmed, Aziz Ahmed, and several others said that they even tried to hire private cabins or cars to reach their destinations but were unable to hire them because the cabbies were demanding skyrocketing fares.