November 05, 2008	Wednesday	Ziqa'ad 6, 1429

HYDERABAD, Nov 4: Sindh Minister for Transport Akhtar Hussain Jadoon has said that the government will launch the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Transport Programme, which envisages bringing on roads 1,000 CNG-fuelled buses to provide better and economical transport facility to people.

The minister said at a meeting with the officers of Regional Transport Authority at Circuit House that 600 buses would be ply in Karachi and the remaining 400 would ply on different routes of rural Sindh.

Of the 400, 100 buses would ply on Karachi-Sukkur route, 100 on Karachi-Hyderabad and 50 buses each on Karachi -Larkana, Khairpur, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto (Nawabshah) and Mirpurkhas districts.

He said that the project would be put into practice within next four months and the government has formulated a strategy for training the crew of each bus.

The crew would be in uniform and the programme would not only provide better communication facility to people but it would also provide jobs to the skilled and unskilled manpower, he said.

The minister directed the officers of Regional Transport Authority to ensure that the route permits issued by them were implemented in letter and spirit, enforce fares fixed by the government, increase revenue, take action against violators of rules and create new transport avenues within their jurisdictions.

He further directed them to submit to him monthly progress reports.

The officers, most of whom had the additional charges in the authority, complained to the minister of difficulties in implementing traffic rules due to lack of magisterial powers. They were understaffed and not in a position to streamline transport rules, they said.

The minister assured the officers that he would recommend magisterial powers for them to ensure implementation of transport rules.

DCO Ali Ahmed Lund, officers of the authority from Thatta, Hyderabad, Tando Mohammad Khan, Matiari, Tando Allahyar, Jamshoro and Dadu districts attended the meeting.