KARACHI: We want to thank the Supreme Court for allowing the Qingqi rickshaws to ply the roads. We are doing our best to meet the specified required standard and are trying to train the rickshaw drivers to behave with the passengers. But we would request the authorities concerned to cooperate with us because the big transporters do not tolerate the smaller ones.

This was said by Mohammad Jamil, president of the Qingqi CNG Auto Rickshaw Minicab Welfare Association at a press conference at the Karachi Press Club on Tuesday.

Mr Jamil said demographically Sindh was the second largest province of the country and Karachi was the seventh largest city of the world. To carry the big population of Karachiites from one place to another, at least 10,000 big buses were required, but only four to five per cent buses plied the roads which were an inadequate number for the citizens. This was the reason, he said, there was a huge number of motorcycles in the city because of which every now and then road accidents took place.

Mr Jamil said old buses moved on many a route in Karachi. People had no option but to travel by those vehicles which emitted tons of carbon dioxide and other poisonous gases which caused pollution that in turn caused dangerous diseases. Despite that, he said, drivers of buses and coaches charged full fare and often offloaded the passengers midway; and if passengers protested, bus drivers ill treated them. He asked the authorities to make laws to counter such elements.

Mr Jamil said Qingqi rickshaws were a blessing for the masses because they were cheap and enabled people to reach their destination on time. He said rickshaw drivers were not treated fairly which created problems for passengers. He appealed to the relevant authorities to take steps so that unjust treatment was not meted out to rickshaw drivers. He thanked the Supreme Court for saving many families from facing the issue of unemployment. He also thanked the transport minister, transport and their team for supporting the association.

Mr Jamil said his association would work for the welfare of the rickshaw drivers. He lamented that no one before had thought of their welfare, their medical facilities, group insurance etc, and they were now working towards that. He said the association was also striving to come up with a policy so that the drivers could be properly trained. He said the big transporters did not tolerate the small ones and therefore the authorities concerned should cooperate with the association to look into the issue.

In response to a question, he said the rickshaw owners and drivers would comply with the Supreme Court’s directives and keep their rickshaws as per required specifications. He said one Qingqi had the capacity of no more than six passengers.

Published in Dawn, April 20th, 2016