Qingqi association to go to court against ban
Senator Taj Haider also requests court to reconsider decision as it makes the common man suffer
The three-wheelers were declared unsafe and a risk to commuters by the court. PHOTO: FILE
KARACHI:
The All Karachi Qingqi Rickshaw Welfare Association has decided to opt for the legal way against the ban on the three-wheelers in Karachi.
According to the president of the association, Syed Safdar Shah Qadri, an appeal against the ban on the six-seat CNG and four-seat motorcycle Qingqis will be submitted in the Sindh High Court (SHC) after consulting all the stake holders. He said that they will opt for a legal solution and will register an appeal against the decision as was their right. He was of the opinion that there were no 12-seat CNG rickshaws in the city. "Only six- and nine-seat CNG rickshaws were plied on the roads," he said, adding that they were just like 'normal two-seat auto-rickshaws'. According to him, the four-seat CNG rickshaw has been approved under the Motor Vehicle Ordinance and it was illegal to impound them. Qadri further pointed out that they had voluntarily halted all Qingqis in the city and it was illegal to confiscate them.
Read: With Qingqis gone, Karachi desperate for other means of transport
The general secretary of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Sindh chapter, Senator Taj Haider, also requested the SHC to reconsider the decision to ban the three-wheeler Qingqi rickshaws across the province. He said that due to the ban, thousands of people had been deprived of their source of income, adding that the common man already suffers from a lack of transport facilities.
Finding solutions
Speaking about the vehicle's design, Haider agreed that safety measures were ignored by the makers of the three-wheelers to transport more passengers from one place to another. He further agreed that overloaded Qingqis had become an unsafe means of transport because of drivers' negligence. However, he said, it was not a solution to ban them abruptly, instead of suggesting and imposing safety measures. According to him, this decision has created new and complicated problems for the common people of Sindh.
Read: Why does this author of 12 books in Faisalabad drive a Qingqi?
Haider said that the Sindh transport department, with the help of NED University of Engineering and Technology, has recommended safety measures for these three-wheelers, adding that the provincial government has received a legal draft for safety measures' implementation. "Instead of banning them completely, it would be better to give six months to drivers and owners to adopt safety measures," he suggested. According to him, overloading should be banned while speed limits, stops and routes should be ascertained and strictly implemented.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 10th, 2015.
The All Karachi Qingqi Rickshaw Welfare Association has decided to opt for the legal way against the ban on the three-wheelers in Karachi.
According to the president of the association, Syed Safdar Shah Qadri, an appeal against the ban on the six-seat CNG and four-seat motorcycle Qingqis will be submitted in the Sindh High Court (SHC) after consulting all the stake holders. He said that they will opt for a legal solution and will register an appeal against the decision as was their right. He was of the opinion that there were no 12-seat CNG rickshaws in the city. "Only six- and nine-seat CNG rickshaws were plied on the roads," he said, adding that they were just like 'normal two-seat auto-rickshaws'. According to him, the four-seat CNG rickshaw has been approved under the Motor Vehicle Ordinance and it was illegal to impound them. Qadri further pointed out that they had voluntarily halted all Qingqis in the city and it was illegal to confiscate them.
Read: With Qingqis gone, Karachi desperate for other means of transport
The general secretary of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Sindh chapter, Senator Taj Haider, also requested the SHC to reconsider the decision to ban the three-wheeler Qingqi rickshaws across the province. He said that due to the ban, thousands of people had been deprived of their source of income, adding that the common man already suffers from a lack of transport facilities.
Finding solutions
Speaking about the vehicle's design, Haider agreed that safety measures were ignored by the makers of the three-wheelers to transport more passengers from one place to another. He further agreed that overloaded Qingqis had become an unsafe means of transport because of drivers' negligence. However, he said, it was not a solution to ban them abruptly, instead of suggesting and imposing safety measures. According to him, this decision has created new and complicated problems for the common people of Sindh.
Read: Why does this author of 12 books in Faisalabad drive a Qingqi?
Haider said that the Sindh transport department, with the help of NED University of Engineering and Technology, has recommended safety measures for these three-wheelers, adding that the provincial government has received a legal draft for safety measures' implementation. "Instead of banning them completely, it would be better to give six months to drivers and owners to adopt safety measures," he suggested. According to him, overloading should be banned while speed limits, stops and routes should be ascertained and strictly implemented.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 10th, 2015.