KARACHI: Goods transporters have decided to go on countrywide strike for the next month because of a stand-off with the Motorway police and a lack of security provided to drivers.
All the goods transport associations met on Tuesday at Mauripur and decided to take the drastic step. At the meeting, headed by Karachi Goods Carriers Association’s (KGCA) chairperson Madad Khan Niazi, the transporters decided to form a ten-member committee to contact unions across the country and announce the date of the strike, which will continue till the problems are fixed.
KGCA’s general secretary, Mohammad Shoaib Khan, pointed out that the issue was not a new one. “We just went on a two-day strike against the same problems before Ashura,” he told The Express Tribune. “We are fed up with the rude conduct of the Motorway police. Our vehicles are stopped for 72 hours and drivers are beaten.”
He said that neither the vehicles nor the drivers have adequate security in the city, motorway and highway. “Dacoits kidnap our drivers along with the truck and loot the containers. Sometimes they open fire at our drivers when they drive fast to escape from the bandits.”
He said the vehicles are looted at the Northern Bypass, Hyderabad and lots of spots in rural Sindh. In Punjab, Lodhran, Khanewal and Dunyapur, are hotspots for robberies. “First when they started looting and kidnapping, they would only steal items which could be easily sold in markets,” said Khan. “But now they are taking away everything - even Polyvinyl Chloride grains and steel coils.”
Khan said another point of contention with law enforcers is over the limit set for the load the trucks can carry. He said vehicles, which have been loaded in Karachi, are fined Rs1,000 for excess weight when the leave the city and come onto the National Highway.
The Motorway police stops them again at Sukkur, Sadiqabad, Multan and Khanewal, asking them to take off the extra load from the containers which are owned by shipping companies. Drivers are not allowed to open the containers.
“We want the police to ask the overloaded trucks to turn around before leaving Karachi. It is unfair to ask the drivers to dump the extra load when they have travelled half the way.” Khan added that the federal minister for communications, Dr Arbab Alamgir, had assured them that issue would be solved a couple of months ago and that he would meet all of Karachi’s transporters to discuss the problem with them. But he has yet to make good on this statement.
KGCA’s president, Khalid Khan, told The Express Tribune that the prescribed weight limit depends on the number of axles on a vehicle. Transport vehicles are allowed to carry less load than an oil tanker with the same number of axles. “We want the authorities to issue equal weights for oil tankers and trucks.”
All Pakistan Goods Transport Welfare Association, KPT Goods Transport Owners Association, Port Qasim Goods Transport Owners Association and Sindh Goods Transport Owners Association representatives attended the meeting.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 28th, 2012.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ