Gravel crisis: Construction work at a halt across the city

The All Pakistan Truck and Dumper Association has been on strike since a week

KARACHI: Karachi's  gravel crisis is likely to continue for some time as the All Pakistan Truck and Dumper Association has been on strike for the last one week, which has caused work on almost all the construction sites in the city to come to a standstill. The work on all construction projects of Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) has also been halted.

KMC technical services director-general Niaz Soomro told The Express Tribune that the work on all construction sites of the city has been halted due to the strike. "No concrete is available for the construction sites," he said, adding that the administration must resolve the issue as soon as possible.

At a press conference last Friday, the association's president, Haji Yousuf Khan, had threatened to widen the scope of their strike by blocking the Super Highway if the government failed to address their woes. He alleged that on the Super Highway, the motorway police kept charging them for overloading their vehicles. "We are barred from entering [Defence Housing Authority] DHA between 6am and 7:30pm," he said, adding that they have to give Rs850 per vehicle in 'extortion' at the Toll Plaza.



The association's vice president, Maqsood Khan, told The Express Tribune on Monday that their issues have not been resolved yet. He said he had met Traffic DIG Amir Ahmed Shaikh and the issue of overcharging by the traffic police had been resolved. "Now we will pay only Rs500 in fine," he said.

However, issues of overloading their vehicles and extortion at Toll Plaza have yet to be resolved. "We also need permission to enter the city before 11pm," he said, adding that until their demands are met, they will remain on strike.



Meanwhile, Commissioner Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui has yet to meet the association. Speaking to The Express Tribune, he said he will soon meet Haji Yousuf Khan and try to resolve their issues. However, regarding the entry of dumpers in the city before 11pm, he said that there was already a Supreme Court ruling in this regard, which is why the dumpers have been barred from entering the city before the stipulated time.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 11^th, 2015.