Container Transporters Association on Monday announced a boycott of services to the dry port and industries in the city in protest against removal of containers from a parking lot on Sheikhupura Road. The announcement was made following a demonstration on Sheikhupura Road near Gattwala.
The protesters demanded that the administration allocate an alternative site for parking of containers and release the vehicles impounded during Monday’s crackdown. They warned that they would block the entry and exit points to the city by placing containers on the roads if the demands were not met.
Dozens of protesters staged a sit-in and blocked the road for traffic by parking container-trucks on it.
Container Transporters Association General Secretary Muhammad Alam condemned the district administration for removal of containers from the stand without a prior warning. He said the administration should have provided an alternative site for parking of containers before taking such an “extreme measure”.
“We were not given time to secure the goods and equipment stored in those containers. Who will be responsible for the damage done to the items kept inside the containers?” he asked.
He said service to industries and dry port would remain suspended until an alternate site was provided for parking of vehicles.
He contended also that the stand on Sheikhupura Road was not causing any problem for traffic.
DCO Nasim Sadiq, however, insisted that the step was taken after a number of complaints had been received about traffic jams due to the movement of containers. He said several accidents involving these containers had also been reported. DCO Sadiq said an alternative parking lot would be provided to the container owners near the dry port.
Rana Muhammad Mushtaq an exporter, expressed concerns at the possible suspension of operations by container owners. He said such a strike would affect a large number of businesses in the city whose export shipments would get stranded.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 24th, 2012.
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