CHITRAL: Local residents demanded of the district administration to debar unauthorised private transport services between Gilgit and Upper Chitral.

Presently, a 35-seater bus from the Northern Areas Transport Company (Natco) of Gilgit-Baltistan shuttles daily between Gilgit and Mastuj town in Upper Chitral. The Village Council Laspur Chairman Mohammad Wazir told Dawn that the Natco shuttle service had started three decades ago and it possessed the public confidence for regularity and service quality.

Expressing his apprehension about possible discontinuation of the Natco shuttle service, he said that the launch of illegal private transport services from Ghizar to Mastuj could result in the vanishing of this affordable transport option for poor people Referring to the resolution unanimously passed by the Tehsil Council Mastuj on the subject, he said that unlawful private coach service from Ghizar to Mastuj needed to be banned in the best public interest.

Mr Wazir expressed his fear that if the Natco stopped its service on the route, the Private coach operators would fleece passengersby chargingexorbitant fares.

He said that a large number of people from Upper Chitral, employed in public and private organisations in Gilgit-Baltistan, travelled on this route. Local traders also used it to transport Chinese goods from the markets in Gilgit and Sust.

When contacted to know the version of the Deputy Commissioner Haseebur Rehman Khan, he conceded that the local people were apprehensive about the future of the Natco bus service to Mastuj due to the unauthorized transport services on the route.

He said that the issue was being taken up with the district administration of Ghizar for an amicable resolution.

Published in Dawn, September 9th, 2024