PESHAWAR: Transporters have announced to observe a wheel-jam strike today (Tuesday) and block motorway and GT Road in the provincial capital on Oct 31 in protest against increase in various taxes and fees.

Speaking at a news conference at the Peshawar Press Club on Monday, representatives of various unions of transporters said despite commitment by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak the transport department and police had started fleecing transport operatives without any logic.

Muttahida Transport Workers Federation provincial president Haji Noor Mohammad, Haji Mohammad Zahir Shah and Khan Zaman Afridi said toll tax at motorway had been increased by Rs100 which had forced the transporters to stop running their vehicles.

We met the concerned high ups and submitted them applications several times, seeking withdrawal of these taxes, but to no avail, the transporters complained.

Zahir Shah said all the inter-city transport plying from Peshawar to various cities and districts of the country, especially Rawalpindi, Islamabad and Lahore, would participate in the protest on Oct 31.

Similarly, Haji Noor Mohammad said the provincial government had also adopted a rude attitude with all the organisations linked with the transport sector and forced them to observe the wheel-jam strike.

He said the transport department had increased taxes, including renewal of route permit, penalties, fitness fee and chalan fee which was injustice with transporters.

The federation’s president further said the KP government through a notification had directed the provincial transport department that all the taxes in the province would be 10 per cent less compared to the Punjab in future. However, he said the transport department did not pay any attention towards the provincial government’s directives and increased the route permit fee manifold.

The urban transport union president Khan Zaman Afridi said challan fee had been increased from Rs600 to Rs1,000 while fee for route permit had been increased by 50 per cent and penalties imposed by traffic police were in addition.

He asked the government to materialise its commitment and decrease the various fees of transport sector. He also urged IGP to take notice of excessive penalties imposed by traffic police officials.

Published in Dawn, October 25th, 2016