Mobility affected: Two transport terminals closed for being a ‘nuisance’

Drivers say officials cannot seal terminals approved by regional transport authorities.

HARIPUR:

Local authorities sealed two transport terminals on Friday that were being run by Afghan refugees on Circular Road.

Protesting the decision, drivers chanted slogans against the authorities and termed their actions illegal.

Official sources said the van terminals had been operating on Eastern Circular Road for the last few years, picking and dropping passengers from Afghan refugee camps on the outskirts of the district.

They claimed that vehicles parked at the terminals would obstruct the flow of traffic and also create problems for pedestrians, especially school and college-going girls.

Taking action on public complaints, Haripur Assistant Commissioner Agha Sher Zaman, accompanied by the local police, paid a surprise visit to the terminals and sealed both of them. He warned the managers of legal action if they violated the closure.

Incensed by Zaman’s actions, Afghan drivers demonstrated against the administration and the government. Speaking to the media, Nadir Khan, one of the terminal managers, said the assistant commissioner could not seal the terminal as it had been approved by the regional transport authorities. He said that after obtaining the license, transporters had been paying taxes to the government and the municipal committee.

He conceded that some of the drivers were responsible for creating gridlocks in the area, but said they should be dealt with under traffic laws. Khan said his terminal alone was managing 70 vans and motorcars, while the second terminal had about 20 vehicles.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 23^rd, 2014.