Transporters block Hub River Road over diesel prices hike, bribery

Disrupt traffic flow between Sindh, Balochistan

KARACHI:

Owners and drivers of passenger buses parked their vehicles in the mid of the road on Hub River Road to protest against the high cost of diesel.

As per details, the owners and drivers of passenger buses on Hub River Road said that with the increase in the price of diesel, the police have also increased the rate of extortion, due to which they are disturbed and were forced to protest.

Demonstrators said that the police used to harass them on the route at the Hub checkpoint and on the way to Northern Bypass.

They added that the police at Hub Chowki and Northern Bypass used to harass the drivers and confiscated their buses for not paying bribes.

They further said that if they went to the police station, the police would tell them that bribe rates have also increased with growing inflation, due to which many buses had been confiscated and parked in the police station for several days.

During the protest, unknown people set fire to tires and set up roadblocks which resulted in a traffic jam on the roads from Karachi to Baluchistan.

The police officers held talks with the transporters for seven hours and assured them that from now on, whoever was found involved in bribery would be sacked.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 20^th, 2022.