August 22, 2008	Friday	Sha'aban 19, 1429

KARACHI, Aug 21: The provincial transport minister, Akhtar Hussain Jadoon, said that permits for old rickshaws could be renewed till June 30, 2010 provided they used silencers which produced relatively less noise and emission as introduced by the Rickshaw Owners’ Association (ROA).

He was speaking to an ROA delegation that called on him here on Thursday. The meeting was attended by Secretary Transport Rasheed Alam, Additional Advocate-General Sarwar Khan, SP Traffic Zulfikar Maher, DO transport, SRTC chairman Yar Mohammed Jutt and the chairman of the Rickshaw Owners’ Association, Hakam Khan Jadoon.

The minister, however, clarified that new permits for two-stroke rickshaws would not be issued and permits of only old rickshaws would be renewed up to 2010.

He said that silencers would be fitted with the rickshaw registration number punched on it and the same would be checked at the time of fitness examination of the vehicle.

The ROA’s chairman informed the minister that currently route permits of around 5,000 rickshaws had expired.

The minister told the association’s representatives that under the court’s order, all two-stroke rickshaws had to be converted into four-stroke ones by June 2010.

He pointed out that at present 70,000 rickshaws were plying on city roads and their conversion from two- to four-stroke would be done gradually.