October 14, 2007	Sunday	Shawwal 1, 1428

MUZAFFARGARH, Oct 13: Oil-tankers which bring furnace oil for Muzaffargarh Thermal Power Station from Karachi have to wait for around one to two weeks for their turn to unload while queuing up outside the station, throwing traffic on Muzaffargarh-Mahmoodkot Road out of gear frequently.

The road has been almost in a traffic mess for the past one week due to parking of a large number of such oil-tankers, inconveniencing daily travellers, prominently employees, students and traders.

The road in front of the thermal station leading to Muzaffargarh is a single-gauge road and is inadequate to accommodate such a large number of heavy vehicles arriving on a daily-basis.

The jumbo-sized trucks occupy a large space on the road leaving a very thin room to other vehicles to pass by, causing frequent traffic jams especially in the morning.

The management of the power station has not arranged any parking facility or boarding arrangements for drivers, who cannot leave their vehicles for safety concerns and are compelled to remain onboard till unloading their consignment.

Neither traffic policemen nor any official of the thermal station is present there to control or streamline the chaotic traffic.

Nasir, a student of the Government Degree College, Muzaffargarh, alleged he had missed his papers because of the traffic jam.

Nazia, a student of matriculation, also seconded Nasir, and said she missed her English paper owing to the traffic mess.

Traders who go to vegetable market alleged that because of the traffic jams they reached the market late and had to suffer huge losses every day.

Muna Sheikh, a city nazim of Muzaffargarh, said the thermal station’s management should arrange a parking lot for oil-tankers waiting for their turn to unload and a restaurant for their driver.

He also demanded that the government should make a police post in the vicinity of the station to ensure security of furnace oil and to prevent its theft.

The passage of hundreds of oil-tankers through the city on a daily-basis is also causing health hazards.

Child Specialist Dr Iqbal said oil evaporation from these tankers was causing skin diseases and children were the worst sufferer. He said he had received many complaints of such allergies in children.

Oil-tanker drivers said they were not allowed to park their vehicles in city precincts where boarding and lodging facilitates were available, and they had to wait for long outside the station while being confined to their vehicles without basic enmities of life.

They accused traffic police of compelling them not to apply brakes anywhere within the city limits, leaving them on the mercy of their fate outside the station.

A traffic policeman said they were not responsible for the traffic chaos outside the power station. Also, there is no association of truck drivers, which was responsible to ensure streamlining their traffic through the city and outside the power station.

The chief security officer of the thermal power station was not available for comments.