Voicing concerns: Transporters protest CNG ban

All Sindh Van Owners Association accused Sindh Transport and Mass Transit Department and Ogra of lobbying for the ban

HYDERABAD:

Transporters have warned to take off all passenger vans from the inter-city routes in Sindh if the ban on the use of CNG is not lifted.

At a press conference on Wednesday in Hyderabad, the All Sindh Van Owners Association accused the Sindh Transport and Mass Transit Department and the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) of lobbying for the ban. Mir Manzoor Ali Brohi, the association’s president, said the Ogra had distributed pamphlets among transporters over a month ago which conveyed a ban on the installation of more than two CNG cylinders.



On May 8, the provincial transport department issued a notification, permanently banning CNG in public transport vehicles, excluding cabs and three-wheelers. The transporters were given three months till August 8 to shift to other fuels.

“While the OGRA has allowed us to keep up to two CNG cylinders, the provincial government has banned it completely. Meanwhile, the Motorway police are imposing fines of between Rs1,000 and Rs2,000 on CNG vans.”

Brohi, who was accompanied by other officer bearers of the association, claimed they had over 2,700 vans owned by their members. He said that their June 7 meeting will decide about an indefinite strike until their demands are heard.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 5^th, 2015.