March 19, 2008	Wednesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 10, 1429

KARACHI, March 18: Commuters faced hardships as public transport, except taxis and rickshaws, remained off the roads on Tuesday in response to a strike call given by the Karachi Transport Ittehad (KTI).

The KTI on Monday had given a strike call for March 18 against the frequent increase in the prices of petroleum products.

Hardly any bus, coach or mini-bus was seen on the roads, causing problems for office-goers, school and college students.

People waited for hours at bus stops to get public transport to reach their destinations. A number of private schools had also declared a holiday on Tuesday. However, most of the offices remained open but attendance was thin as a huge number of people failed to reach their destinations due to the absence of public transport. A similar situation was faced by various city hospitals.

Police has also confirmed reports of stone pelting on vehicles in some areas, including Sohrab Goth and Korangi.

Meanwhile, the National Transport Ittehad (NTI) has announced that it will keep public transport off the roads on March 21 and warned of a two-day strike if the prices of petrol and diesel were not brought down to the February 29 level.

The transporters said they would raise the fares of buses, mini-buses and coaches by Rs3 from March 20.—APP/PPI