Dumpers’ strike creates gravel crisis

The dumper association has been on strike for the past four days

KARACHI: Karachi is on the verge of a serious crisis for gravel, as the All Pakistan Truck and Dumper Association is on strike, which has caused work on almost all the construction sites in the city to come a standstill.

The association's president, Haji Yousuf Khan, has threatened to widen the scope of their strike and block the Super Highway, if the government fails to address their woes. Addressing a press conference at the Karachi Press Club on Friday, he said that their strike has been peaceful so far, but they would block the roads of Karachi, if the government did not take them seriously.



He alleged that on the Superhighway, motorway police kept charging them for overloading their vehicles. "We are barred from entering DHA between 6am and 7:30pm," he said, adding that per vehicle, they have to give Rs850 in extortion money at the toll plaza.

According to him, if dumpers stop plying in Karachi, the price of one sack of gravel would shoot up from Rs8,000 to Rs25,000. "If we start using Mazda trucks instead of dumpers, Karachi's gravel requirement would never be fulfilled," he said in response to a question regarding overloaded dumpers.

He said that 80 per cent of the construction sites in Karachi were not receiving any gravel and around 10,000 trucks had stopped operations. Khan said they were ready not to ply the trucks from 7am to 9am and then from 5pm to 9pm.



Meanwhile, the authorities seem to have no idea of the strike. When The Express Tribune contacted the Traffic DIG Amir Ahmed Shaikh, he said he had no idea that work on construction sites had halted due to any strike.

He added, however, that he had met representatives of the dumper association four days ago and allowed them to ply their vehicles from 9pm. Previously, dumpers were allowed to ply within the city before 11pm.

He said that the dumper association was demanding to bring their vehicles on the roads even on Sundays and at 8pm every day. "I will meet them again on Monday and will try to find a solution that is acceptable to all," he said, reasoning that if they gave a free hand to the dumper association, it is the public who would suffer.



Meanwhile, a builder, Danish Rafique told The Express Tribune that since the last four days, work at his all construction sites had come to a standstill. He said that they were supposed to complete the structure in three months. "If the strike continues, how we can meet our deadlines?" he questioned.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 7^th, 2015.