Rickshaw drivers protest increase in LPG prices
Rickshaw drivers in Sukkur held a demonstration against the constant increase in the price of liquid petroleum gas.
SUKKUR:
Several rickshaw drivers in Sukkur held a demonstration against the constant increase in the price of liquid petroleum gas (LPG).
The drivers gathered outside the Sukkur Press Club on Tuesday and staged a sit-in as they demanded the government lower the price of LPG and other commodities of daily use.
The union of rickshaw drivers must also be removed since it demands extortion for letting us wait for customers at prime spots, some protesters claimed.
The rickshaw drivers, led by Liaquat Ali, Talib Hussain Khoso and Shakeel Ahmed Awan, shouted slogans against the government and blocked the road with their vehicles. Traffic remained suspended for more than an hour.
“In 2002, one kg of LPG was available for Rs40 and today it is being sold at Rs120,” complained Awan. “When I went to get a refill, the dealer told me that the rate is Rs120 per kg today and it is likely to get higher.”
Ali has to pay Rs120 every day to the owner of the rickshaw. “After buying fuel, I am left with hardly any money for my family,” he said. “The price of Mobil oil has also been increased by Rs40 per litre,” he added.
As prices of such necessities increase, people find it harder and harder to make ends meet.
Khoso is facing similar problems as he has to pay the owner of the rickshaw as well.
“Earlier I used to ply the rickshaw for only eight hours and earned enough for my family,” he said. Now, he works more than 15 hours and what he earns is not sufficient for his family.
“This government has really disappointed us because they claimed to provide ‘roti, kapra aur makaan’ but is actually doing the opposite,” said Nazir Chachar.
Pointing to his tattered clothes, he said “is this what why we brought the PPP to power for”.
“They [rulers] are leading luxurious lives, like the of crown princes of oil-rich Gulf States, and probably don’t have time to look into the miseries of the people,” he claimed.
The curse of the rickshaw union
“The government is looting us on one hand and now the rickshaw union has become another curse for us,” complained Chachar. The officers in the rickshaw union are corrupt and they charge money from the drivers for standing at prime locations, he added.
Chachar said that the union charges Rs7 per day to stand at Clock Tower, Shikarpur Road, Old Sukkur and Rohri.
If a driver waits for a customer at Clock Tower, he will pay Rs7 but if he takes a customer to Rohri, he will have to pay the amount again to wait for another customer. “It has become impossible for us to run our households like this.”
The protesters, who had gathered outside press club, threatened to go on strike if the government fails to bring down the price of LPG by November 15.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 10th, 2010.
Several rickshaw drivers in Sukkur held a demonstration against the constant increase in the price of liquid petroleum gas (LPG).
The drivers gathered outside the Sukkur Press Club on Tuesday and staged a sit-in as they demanded the government lower the price of LPG and other commodities of daily use.
The union of rickshaw drivers must also be removed since it demands extortion for letting us wait for customers at prime spots, some protesters claimed.
The rickshaw drivers, led by Liaquat Ali, Talib Hussain Khoso and Shakeel Ahmed Awan, shouted slogans against the government and blocked the road with their vehicles. Traffic remained suspended for more than an hour.
“In 2002, one kg of LPG was available for Rs40 and today it is being sold at Rs120,” complained Awan. “When I went to get a refill, the dealer told me that the rate is Rs120 per kg today and it is likely to get higher.”
Ali has to pay Rs120 every day to the owner of the rickshaw. “After buying fuel, I am left with hardly any money for my family,” he said. “The price of Mobil oil has also been increased by Rs40 per litre,” he added.
As prices of such necessities increase, people find it harder and harder to make ends meet.
Khoso is facing similar problems as he has to pay the owner of the rickshaw as well.
“Earlier I used to ply the rickshaw for only eight hours and earned enough for my family,” he said. Now, he works more than 15 hours and what he earns is not sufficient for his family.
“This government has really disappointed us because they claimed to provide ‘roti, kapra aur makaan’ but is actually doing the opposite,” said Nazir Chachar.
Pointing to his tattered clothes, he said “is this what why we brought the PPP to power for”.
“They [rulers] are leading luxurious lives, like the of crown princes of oil-rich Gulf States, and probably don’t have time to look into the miseries of the people,” he claimed.
The curse of the rickshaw union
“The government is looting us on one hand and now the rickshaw union has become another curse for us,” complained Chachar. The officers in the rickshaw union are corrupt and they charge money from the drivers for standing at prime locations, he added.
Chachar said that the union charges Rs7 per day to stand at Clock Tower, Shikarpur Road, Old Sukkur and Rohri.
If a driver waits for a customer at Clock Tower, he will pay Rs7 but if he takes a customer to Rohri, he will have to pay the amount again to wait for another customer. “It has become impossible for us to run our households like this.”
The protesters, who had gathered outside press club, threatened to go on strike if the government fails to bring down the price of LPG by November 15.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 10th, 2010.