Protesters clashed with police and the twin cities were paralysed as hundreds of people blocked main roads over gas shortages and price hikes.
Public transport was halted in the capital city, where police used tear gas and sticks on a crowd.
Following the nationwide strike call given by the All Pakistan CNG Association (APCNGA) in protest against the recent hike in gas prices, the Transport Welfare Association Islamabad (TWAI) and Muttahida Transport Action Committee (MTAC) matched footings on Monday, announcing an indefinite wheel jam strikes across the twin cities.
A large number of angry transporters assembled at the Karachi Company bus stop, in Sector G-9, and chanted slogans against the government for increasing the prices and shortage of gas. The protesters, led by MTAC chairman Muhammad Sultan Awan and TWAI Chairman Haji Malik Nawab, began to march towards Faizabad Chowk, their numbers swelling as transporters from Rawalpindi joined them.
The mob burnt tyres, blocked traffic and pelted stones at moving vehicles on Islamabad Expressway, blocking the highway for many hours. They demanded withdrawal of the hike in price of gas immediately and uninterrupted gas supply to public transport.
In the mix, a group of youngsters set ablaze a police van beneath the Faizabad flyover, in which a policeman was also injured. But the police remained mere spectators and did not use force to control the violent protesters.
In Bhara Kahu, passengers and students waiting for the public transport also joined the protests blocking Murree Road for over an hour. They set up makeshift road blocks, burnt tyres and forced people to get off their vehicles. They even tried to stop taxicabs for plying their vehicles, which led to a few scuffles.
Meanwhile, another protest demonstration was organised at the D-Chowk, in front of Parliament House, where transporters chanted slogans against the government and demanded provision of gas.
The government has hiked the gas price by 14 per cent amid yawning energy shortfalls that have sparked recent protests.
Queues snaked from petrol stations as cars stocked up on dwindling gas stocks.
“The gap between demand and supply has been increasing because of severe cold and the company is unable to bridge it,” a senior official at the Sui Northern Gas Company said.
The company official said that a proposal is also under consideration to terminate the gas supply for thousands of CNG stations supplying public and private vehicles for a month.
The commuters’ woes
A large number of people, including women, children, and aged people were seen waiting for long hours at bus stops on Benazir Bhutto Road (formerly known as Murree Road), Peshawar Road, Islamabad Expressway and IJ Principal Road, hoping to get a ride to reach their destinations.
Akhtar Khatoon, a commuter at Kutchery Chowk, said it is the government’s duty to provide affordable public transport to the people, lamenting the transporters. “Had there been a state-run transport facility the strike would not have hurt the common man this bad,” she said. She added that the situation is more alarming for students, who cannot afford higher taxi fares and solely rely on public transport to reach their institutes on a daily basis.
Taxicabs overcharge
With buses and passenger vans observing a complete strike, taxicabs and Suzuki pickups were the only transport available to commuters. But even that was no respite, as the cab owners took advantage of the situation and overcharged commuters.
“I paid Rs70 to a taxi driver who boarded three other passengers on the same rate from 6th Road to come to Saddar, covering only 7km,” said a commuter, Chaudhry Waheed. Another claimed to have paid Rs400 to a taxicab for travelling from Karachi Company to Aabpara Market, which is a distance of around 9km.
As a result, some commuters, sickened by the strike, began to make their journeys on foot.
Azhar Mehmood said he walked from the 9th Avenue signal to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) because he could not afford to pay Rs200 for a taxi.
“I earn a living by plying taxi and I too have a family to feed,” said Muhammad Akhtar, a taxi driver. He said when the government has done nothing to ease the problems of the transporters “it is only fair that we charge higher from commuters”.
Another cab driver, Arshad Hussain, said that his family is entirely dependent on his daily earnings. “For the last three days my children are only eating potatoes as I cannot afford anything else to feed my family,” he said.
Long queues on gas stations
Vehicles lined up in staggeringly long queues on petrol stations and some CNG stations run by multinational companies in the city that are not observing the strike announced by the APCNGA.
Additional input from AFP
Published in The Express Tribune, January 3rd, 2012.
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Government itself is lacking credibility that no one listening to their lie anymore...Jaye Jamhoriat :)
CNG Association and transporters are now basically blackmailing the Government, which has no capacity to resolve the issue as it is.