KARACHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the provincial authorities to explain why motorcycle-rickshaws, better known as Qingqis, were banned when there was no alternative public transport available across the province.

A two-judge bench comprising Justices Gulzar Ahmed and Maqbool Baqar also ordered the provincial transport authorities to submit and proposals to cope with the shortage and unavailability of public transport.

The bench was hearing a civil petition of the Association of Owners and Staff of Qingqi Rickshaws for leave to appeal against the dismissal of their petition by the Sindh High Court. The SHC had on Aug 5 dismissed their petition and ordered immediate ban on the operation of Qingqi rickshaws across the metropolis.

The petitioner asked the apex court to set aside the impugned order of the SHC and grant leave to appeal against the dismissal of their petition.

When the petition, filed by Advocate Ghulam Qadir Jatoi on behalf of the rickshaw owners, came up for hearing, the judges expressed grave concern over the ban on plying of motorcycle-rickshaws in the absence of alternative arrangements for commuters. The provincial government law officer told the judges that the ban was imposed on Qingqi rickshaws as they were plying in violation of the Motor Vehicle Act, 1979.

He said the motorcycle-rickshaws had been allowed to ply on limited routes but they had started operating on major arteries and even on the Superhighway.

The law officer said that earlier there was only one workshop for preparing motorcycle rickshaws, but now the workshops had spread all over the city.

One of the bench members observed that the motorcycle-rickshaw was a good public transport facility and asked why these three-wheelers were banned in the absence of alternative public transport.

He remarked that corrective measures should have been taken if anything was wrong with the operation of the Qingqi rickshaws instead of imposing a ban on them.

The court observed that the Qingqi rickshaws were banned without any proper planning despite the fact that thousands of people were associated with this transport business.

One of the judges remarked that the ban on Qingqis had made the life of commuters miserable and motorcyclists were compelled to take their whole family on motorbikes. He observed that cheap and affordable public transport was not available in Karachi, while minibuses plying here were in a very poor condition.

The bench directed the provincial authorities to convene a meeting of all stakeholders, including representatives of the petitioner, and chalk out a comprehensive strategy and make proposals to resolve the issue. The court would take up the matter on Thursday (today).

Published in Dawn, September 3rd, 2015

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