Oil tankers' parking yard: Shireen Jinnah workers fear an end to three decades of glory

Claim the tankers are too big to be repaired at roadside workshops.

KARACHI:

Anxiety is clearly visible on the faces of mechanics, painters and welders at the oil tankers parking yard in Shireen Jinnah Colony. Their business and source of livelihood is going to be affected as the Rangers and police have asked them to leave the parking yard.

Dozens of mechanics, painters and welders fix oil tankers' which enter the parking yard. "A few days back, the Rangers came and asked us to leave the place. They visited again the next day and repeated the demand," said Shahid Jamal, who has been painting oil tankers at the yard for over 20 years.



He said that they have contacted their market committee chief to take up the issue with the police and Rangers. "Our bread is associated with the oil tankers. We can't leave the yard unless the oil tankers are shifted to some other place." He said that they have submitted their photographs and identity card copies with the market committee to make entry passes for those who work at the yard.

"These vehicles are too big to be repaired at roadside workshops. We can easily repair them in the parking yard," said Mohammad Akbar, a welder at the yard, adding that they had been doing it from the time these vehicles started using this space for parking. He added that the police have, however, started harassing them this week.

Shireen Jinnah Shopkeepers' Welfare Society President Haji Munawar Hussain told The Express Tribune that they had contacted the Rangers check post in-charge of the colony. According to him, the in-charge promised to fix a meeting with Rangers officials but they were still waiting for a reply.

"From the marshes to the yard, we have established this place. We know the land is owned by someone else but they are removing us without any reason," said Hussain, who has been working in the area since 1985. He added that they are willing to leave the place if the government provided them with an alternative piece of land. He said that five years back, the police had wanted to remove them from the yard but they settled it through negotiations. "The police and Rangers cannot complain of any illegal activity at the parking yard because they are well aware of our history. We have not created any problems in the area," said Hussain.

All Pakistan Oil Tankers Owners Association (APOTOA) secretary-general Shafiq Kakar said their vehicles needed repair after every trip and these mechanics were working in the area for over three decades. "We are relocating to the Zulfiqarabad terminal and they will also go with us when the terminal is ready. Expelling them before time is unfair," he said. The police and Rangers officials, when contacted, declined to acknowledge the issue. West SSP Irfan Baloch said that they have not asked anybody to leave the place. Similarly, a spokesperson for Rangers said that none of their men had gone to the area or asked anyone to leave the parking yard.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 28^th, 2013.