The Department of Transport, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has lifted ban on issuance of route permits of commuters' vehicles with immediate effect. The decision to this effect was taken in a meeting held on Friday with Transport and Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain in the chair at Peshawar.
Besides others, Secretary Transport Sikandar Qayum, all the Commissioners and authorities concerned of the Transport and Local Government: Departments also attended the meeting. It was decided in the meeting that record of the permits to be issued on the divisional level would be shared with the headquarter office and the transport department would be taken into confidence in this respect.
The meeting decided to eliminate all C - routes in the province and all commissioners were asked to furnish details of the said routes. The meeting was unanimous that only the transport department has the authority to issue permits for bus and truck stands adding that all such places without getting permit from the Transport Department would be deemed unlawful. Hence any such stand that already existed without permission would be regularised through transport department.
Similarly, the Transport Department was also directed to create its own force for implementation of its decision. It also took serious notice of unlawful bus, coaches and Suzuki stands in the city and observed that these stands were causing difficulties in smooth flow of traffic. Hence stern action was proposed for shifting of all such stands from inside the city.
Speaking on the occasion, the Transport Minister observed that inept policies of the previous governments has paralysed the traffic system adding that in order to please certain blue eyed, very wrong decisions have been taken due to which the entire nation was bearing the brunt of those wrongful decisions. He said that it was astonishing that bus stands have been established inside the city despite the fact that load of traffic has increased manifold.
He recalled that all bus stands were shifted from inside the city some 17 years back in order to reduce the load of traffic inside the city. He said that all steps being taken in respect of transport department would aim at curtailing the problems of the people instead of pleasing a handful of blue eyed.