Barricading access: Regularisation of illegal bus stands demanded

The move is expected to generate an additional income of Rs60m annually.

RAWALPINDI:

Leaders of Markazi Injuman-e-Tajiran General Bust Stand (GBS) Pir Wadhai on Sunday demanded all illegal bus stands operating in the area to be shifted inside GBS limits. The organisation’s president Tariq Khan Tanoli, chairman Imran Khan and Secretary Faisal Abbasi said in a press release issued here on Sunday.

The executives said that the bus stand owners have acquired licences from GBS Pir Wadhai but operate outside the prescribed area to avoid paying fees. They said that the bus stands set up outside Pir Wadhai create crowds and make it difficult for people to enter the market. Around 840 shops have been affected due to the illegal bus stations and the shopkeepers are facing financial crisis as a result. The said the move will generate an additional income of Rs60 million annually.

The leaders of the union said that the city administration, police and civil defence departments have termed these illegal bus stands as a security risk, but no steps are being taken to remove them. The Chief Secretary Punjab, during a visit around six months ago, promised to shift these illegal bus stations inside the GBS limits, but Secretary Rawalpindi Transport Authority did not implement the directives, they said.

The union leaders said that as per agreement, 60 per cent income from these bus stands’ fees are supposed to be spent for development of the area, while 40 per cent on salaries of staffs. However, the administration has not spent a single rupee for development of the area for the past 32 years. They demanded that an audit be conducted to highlight these discrepancies.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 11^th,  2011.