Feeling cornered: Frustrated rickshaw drivers block road for two hours

Drivers complain they are being fined for vehicles that were converted by manufacturers.

KARACHI: Frustrated owners and drivers of six-seater and nine-seater CNG rickshaws blocked Qayyumabad Chowrangi on Thursday to protest against the traffic police for impounding their vehicles.

The rickshaws blocked all the roads leading to the intersection, preventing people from reaching Korangi, Landhi, DHA, Saddar and Baloch Colony. The resulting traffic jam lasted nearly two hours.

The rickshaw drivers complained that it is not their fault that their vehicles are illegal. "We used to run three-seater rickshaws but the manufacturers have converted it into six-seater and nine-seater, which is not our fault," claimed an angry protester, waving a bamboo stick in the air. "Why are the traffic police fining us and impounding our vehicles?" he wanted to know.



The protesters wanted to clarify that the traffic IG has banned Qingqi rickshaws not CNG ones, which are paying taxes, plying on route permits and have proper registration. "In the past two days, I have paid 13 fines for my vehicles and now they have impounded them," pointed out Muhammad Saleem Butt, another protester who owns 15 rickshaws that ply on the roads between Korangi and Saddar.

"We bought these rickshaws by selling our wives' jewellery and our plots, and they are our sole source of income," said Zakir Ali, a resident of Qayyumabad, who was leading the protest. These rickshaws are providing a good alternative to people in the absence of public buses, which carry people on roofs, he added.

Stuck in traffic

Meanwhile, those who were stuck in traffic were getting restless. "I have been waiting in the bus for more than an hour," said an old man, who was on his way to Korangi with his family. "It is not fair that you block the road and yell at people to get your demands fulfilled," he said.

"Our religion teaches us to remove stones from the paths and we are blocking them," pointed out a young man who was trying to squeeze his car out of the jam.

Called off

The protest was called off after negotiation with DSP Tariq Mughal, who came to the spot to clear the roads. "Why have you blocked the roads? Is this your property? Is this the right way to resolve an issue," Mughal yelled, as he got out of his car along with two policemen.

The drivers asked him to intervene and get their impounded vehicles released by the Defence and Saddar police. "We concluded our protest when the DSP assured us that our problem will be solved in two days," said Sohail Khan, an owner of four rickshaws who negotiated with Mughal and then asked his colleagues to remove their rickshaws from the roads. "He has given his word that the traffic police will not detain or fine our vehicles on Expressway." The protest will start again if this issue is not resolved, he added.

Different opinion

The Sindh Transport Secretary clairified that the government has no intention to ban the Qingqi rickshaws in the city. Talking to the media, he expressed his reluctance regarding the campaign started by the traffic police against the Qingqi rickshaws and said, "The traffic police has not taken us into confidence on this issue. The transport department will reguralise the CNG and Qingqi rickshaws within a month."

Published in The Express Tribune, October 11^th, 2013.