Transporters will observe wheel-jam strike on Friday (today) in the city, as the daylong talks on Thursday between Sindh government and transporters failed to make any headway. According to sources, provincial Transport Minister Akhtar Jadoon tried his level best to persuade the representatives of Karachi Transport Ittehad (KTI) to call off their strike on the basis of mere pledges.
They said the transporters insisted on payment of compensation for the vehicles burnt during violence in the city on immediate basis, but the minister urged them to have a meeting with Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah to sort out the issue.
The minister assured the transporters that he would ask the higher authorities to resolve the letter's genuine issues, besides provision of compensation money, they added.
"Yes, the transporters refused to call off the wheel-jam strike as they were demanding immediate payment of compensation. It is not easy task for the government to take such decision in a hurry", Sindh Transport Minister Akhtar Jadoon said while talking to Business Recorder. The minister said that he had assured the representatives of KTI that their all genuine problems would be resolved, besides payment of compensation.
Talking to Business Recorder, KTI President Syed Irshad Hussain Shah Bukhari said that the transporters would observe a complete wheel-jam strike today and no vehicle would ply on city's roads. He said the transporters would observe the strike and the responsibility would lie on the Sindh Chief Minister, as he failed to pay heeds to the demands of transporters.
He said that it was decided in the meeting of May 06 that no KTI leader would meet with any minister but to the Sindh Chief Minister. He said the chief minister ignored the transporters' strike as the government was focusing only on the strike of May 12. He said that on May 12, 2007 11 drivers were killed and 29 buses, minibuses and coaches were torched. Irshad Bukhari said that the provincial government seemed reluctant to resolve the problems of public transporters or give compensation to them.