GUJRANWALA, Jan 6: Commuters faced a hard day out on Tuesday as public transport vehicle owners suspended bus service from Gujranwala to Naushera Virkan, Tetlay, Sheikhupura and Hafizabad to protest against “excessive challans and heavy fines” by traffic wardens and the RTA secretary.

The companies plying their buses on many intra- and inter-city routes parked their vehicles along the roads, refusing to accommodate the commuters who had to hire costlier modes of transportation.

A transport owners’ association, led by its president Mian Muhammad Illyas, had threatened a wheel-jam strike if action against the bus owners was not halted immediately. Most wagon owners too parked their vehicles and observed the wheel-jam strike.

Together they chanted slogans against traffic wardens and the RTA secretary, demanding that they should do away with excessive challan policy.

The Transport Society Gujranwala (TSG) union, however, did not take part in the strike and continued plying their vehicles on GT Road (between Wazirabad, Gakkhar Town, Rahwali and Gujranwala), though bus owners pelted their vehicles with stones outside the general bus stand.

Meanwhile, the commuters say the transporters should be penalised because of persistent misbehaviour of their crew with the people.

“They (the crew) misbehave with the commuters who protest overcharging and overloading, sometimes pushing the people outside the vehicles.”

DCO Dr Pervaiz Ahmad Khan convened a meeting of transporters in the wake of the strike and assured them that their genuine demands would be accepted after Muharram holidays. He urged them to call off strike to save the public from inconvenience.