The number of people going upcountry to celebrate Eid with their families has declined particularly for the last two years. General Secretary, Sindh air-conditioned Bus Owners Association, Haji Abul Rauf Khan Niazi while talking to Business Recorder here on Saturday said the ratio of people going to their ancestral places to celebrate Eid was decreasing with every passing year.
In the past Pakistan Railway used to run 5 to 6 special trains but today it was operating only two trains, he added. When asked why the ratio of people was decreasing going upcountry to celebrate Eid, Niazi replied that the people actually did not come back Karachi right after Eid and stay a bit longer with their families while it was not profitable for the transporters to take their vehicles back to Karachi half empty. He added that the cost of tyres and other spare parts has increased substantially. Niazi said during the first tenure of Benzir Bhutto the cost of one bus was around Rs 2,00,000 or 3,00,000 while these days the cost of one bus was Rs 15,00,000 or 16,00,000.