November 11, 2008	Tuesday	Ziqa'ad 12, 1429

PESHAWAR, Nov 10: Despite reduction in the price of diesel, transporters are still overcharging the passengers without any check by the concerned officials.

The transporters plying on various routes in the provincial capital have said that they were not ready to reduce fares recently revised by the Sarhad Transport Owners Association due to various reasons.

Meanwhile, chairman of legal committee of Sarhad Transport Owners Association, Haji Ihsanullah, while talking to Dawn asked the government to reduce fuel price according to international rates otherwise they would observe a wheel-jam strike after Nov 15.

He claimed to have announced a 6.1 per cent cut in fares on all inter-city routes. But, according to transporters, the operators of coasters were charging Rs350 on alternate route instead of the revised fare of Rs230 owing to the closure of Kohat tunnel.

Following a relief of Rs4 in the price per litre diesel, Haji Ihsanullah said, the association had announced to reduce fares but, he added, those violating the decision could not be members of the transporters’ organisation.

About the revised fares, he said fare from Peshawar to Bahawalpur in the air-conditioned buses was reduced from Rs600 to Rs500, Peshawar-Multan from Rs530 to Rs450, Sialkot from Rs350 to Rs300 and fare to Rahimyar Khan was reduced from Rs800 to Rs700.

The transporters, he said, were already informed about the decision and they were bound to reduce the fares both in the air-conditioned and non-air conditioned vehicles plying from Peshawar to different cities of the country.

Mr Ihsan said it was duty of the Regional Transport Authority to check the tickets and all other related issues, adding that the government was least interested to regulate the system.

He said that provincial government restored the commissioners’ system but executive magistrates and traffic magistrates were yet to be restored.

Sarhad Transport Owners Association Peshawar chapter president Jehangir Khan Afridi, when contacted, told Dawn that revised fare list was issued when price of per litre diesel was Rs64. Later the diesel price was increased but transporters were not given any relief, he added. He said if the price of diesel was decreased less than Rs64 then the transporters would reduce the fares.

The price of oil in the international market, he said, was decreasing but transporters in the country were not given relief. He warned if the government did not decrease the rate till Nov 15, transporters would be compelled to stage demonstrations and give a call for wheel-jam strike.