SADIQABAD-Transporters announced a two-day strike against “what they called” forced relocation of the General Bus Stand outside the city here on Friday.
They told the media that the administration has established a new bus stand at a cost of Rs130 million outside the city and is forcing the transporters to take their vehicles there. They flayed that the administration never bothered to provide any facility at the old bus stand and established a new bus stand at a deserted place which, they said, is icon of the officials’ corruption and has failed badly. They said just like the old one, the new bus stand also lacks facilities and in this situation, transporters cannot shift their set-up there. “The officials, in fact, wanted to veil their corruption and ineffectivity of the new bus stand and therefore are forcing transporters to start operations from there,” they claimed.
They said officials of the administration, flanked by policemen, came to the old general bus stand and pressurised them for shifting of their transport set-up to the new bus stand. “We negotiated with the officials but they were not convinced and sealed the bus stand,” they alleged, adding that they also punctured tyres of their vehicles. The transporters demanded the government to take notice of the situation and provide them with justice. They said they are ready to move to the new bus stand if they will be provided with basic transport facilities. All Pakistan Public Transport Union (APPTU) also supported the transporters’ demands.