KARACHI, July 22: Hundreds of thousands of commuters in the city suffered on account of a transport strike as operators of buses, minibuses and coaches kept their vehicles off the road on Tuesday to protest against the recent hike in fuel prices and to demand a matching increase in fares.

However, transporters agreed to call off their strike on an assurance by the minister that he would look into the issue. Though the fare was not officially raised, various associations of the transporters announced that they would bring out their vehicles on the road on Wednesday.

The thoroughfares, which normally remain choked with buses and minibuses, wore a deserted look throughout the day in their absence. Rickshaw and taxi drivers, however, had a field day. They charged exorbitant fares from the commuters. Some goods transport like trucks were also seen taking passengers on Sharea Faisal. The passengers were reportedly charged from Rs15 to Rs20 for a trip from Quaidabad to the city centre.

The strike also caused thin attendance in offices as few people made it to work. The downtown shopping centres and business districts wore a deserted look in the absence of visitors, while many workers also failed to reach their workplace.

Flocks of people were seen awaiting the public transport at different bus stops during the morning rush hours. After waiting for hours at the bus stands most of the unsuccessful commuters returned home, while a few others managed to cover short distances to their offices on foot.

The failure of successive governments to run a circular railway or introduce a workable mass transit system during the last six decades was a common complaint of the people, who were affected by the strike. Many commuters were heard criticising the authorities over non-availability of government buses and for leaving the public at the mercy of transport mafia.

While the motorcyclists were generally seen offering a lift to people standing at the bus stands some motorists too picked up passengers.

Passengers were also critical of the government for not taking pre-emptive steps to negotiate with the transports to avoid the strike. They feared that the government would succumb to the transporters pressure and raise the fare according to their demands putting additional financial burden on the common man. People were already overburdened with ever-increasing inflation, they said.

Proposal sent to CM

Sindh Transport Minister Akhtar Jadoon, meanwhile, regretting the inconvenience caused to the general public by the transport strike said that the transport department had not been informed about any demands for raise in the fare before the strike call was given.

All the issues should be resolved through negotiations, he asserted.

The minister said that bus fare had been enhanced twice sometime back and there was no justification for an unacceptable raise as was being demanded by the transporters. However, he said, keeping in view the recent rise in fuel prices that adversely hit the transport sector, proposal with a minimum rise in fares had been sent to the chief minister for consideration.

He said that a proposal suggesting a Re1 rise for up to five kilometres and Rs1.50 for beyond had been forwarded to the chief minister. The minister said that the rise would be notified after its approval by the chief minister.

Strike called off

On Tuesday morning, a delegation of the National Transport Ittehad, led by Salim Bangash, called on the transport minister and disassociated themselves from the strike. The association announced that the member transporters would not observe a strike on Wednesday instead they would bring out their vehicles on roads as a matter of routine.

Karachi Transport Ittehad chief Irshad Hussain Bokhari, meanwhile, said that the strike call for Wednesday had been withdrawn after the transport minister requested for it.

Responding to Dawn queries, he said that Sindh Transport Minister Akhtar Jadoon had come to his office for a meeting with the transporters to discuss their problems on Tuesday. He said that the transporters had demanded that the July 20 raise in fuel prices be withdrawn, which was not accepted by the minister. However, Mr Bokhari said, the minister accepted to look into the possibility of incorporating the raise in fuel price while fixing the increase in the fares after meeting all the stakeholders during the next three days.

Food shortage

In view of the shortage of food stuff and other essential commodities in the country, the Karachi Goods Carriers’ Association called off strike on Tuesday.

Speaking at a meeting of the transporters, Khalid Khan representing the association said that various areas of the country were already facing a shortage of essential items, particularly food stuff. He said it had been decided in the wake of food shortage that the strike should be called off so that essential commodities could reach every nook and corner of the country from Wednesday.

Lauding the unity shown by the transporters owing to which the work remained suspended at the Mauripur Truck Stand and Hawkesbay Truck Stand, he said that the organisation would discuss the matter with all the stakeholders and a new date for strike would be announced shortly so that the fare could be raised in accordance with the increase in the fuel prices.