BADIN, Feb 27: Seizure of vehicles by the district administrations, Regional Transport Authority and police in different parts of Sindh continued for the third consecutive day on Tuesday to ensure maximum participation by the people in the scheduled public meeting of President Musharraf in Larkana today.

The operation was conducted with the help of traffic and local police during which over 100 buses, wagons and other vehicles were reportedly impounded during the last three days in Badin only.

The swoop on vehicles created problems for the commuters, including women and children, who remained stranded in the absence of public transport.

Passengers were made to take lift on animal carts and tractor-trolleys when the traffic police forced them to disembark from buses and other modes of public transport. Many transporters kept their vehicles off road fearing impounding.

The vehicles were being handed over to the ruling Pakistan Muslim League legislators and nazims to shuttle a maximum number of people to Larkana.

The district leadership of PML, led by provincial minister and MPA Syed Ali Bux Shah, gathered more than 8000 people in the caravan heading to Larkana.

The general bus stand and other points in the city and its suburbs wore a deserted look and a thin attendance was witnessed in the city schools, while only 20 per cent patients could hardly reach the city hospital due to massive impounding of public transport.

KHAIRPUR: A similar scenario prevailed in Khairpur where hundreds of commuters, particularly women, children and patients, faced hardships as police impounded wagons, coaches, buses, mini-buses and handed them over to the revenue department.

A large number of government servants, who work in the headquarters of seven talukas, including Kotdiji, Gambat, Faiz Ganj and Sobhodero, failed to turn up to their offices amid police crackdown on public transport.

Due to non-availability of public transport, patients could not attend OPDs at three main government hospitals of Khairpur.

NAUSHAHRO FEROZE: Public transport has gone off the roads in Padidan, Bhirya Road, Darya Khan Mari, Mithiani, Tharushah and other towns for three days amid fears of being impounded by the district administration officials.