KARACHI: Sindh Transport Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah on Tuesday said that over 637 diesel buses will be brought on roads within the next couple of months and all illegal transport terminals will be shifted away from Karachi.

He gave this assurance to the house during the Question Hour session of the Sindh Assembly pertaining to the transport department.

While responding to a question asked by Leader of the Opposition Khwaja Izharul Hassan, Mr Shah further said that over 200 buses would be added to the fleet of intercity buses by July.

In reply to another question about repeated announcements regarding such schemes, the transport minister said the scheme was first announced in 2009. But it had to be delayed for one reason or the other, he said. Some time back a similar scheme could not materialise despite the fact that the government had contributed 14 per cent promised fund, because the transporter who had to arrange 86pc fund, including 70pc bank loan, could not manage to do it, he added. The transporter had been given additional time to arrange the funds but he failed to get the bank loan with the result that the project was cancelled, said the minister.

Learning from the past failure, the government and the transporter this time would pool in 15pc each and for the remaining 70pc the government would help the transporter get it from Sindh Bank. The government would also assist the transporter in the insurance/leasing-related issues, therefore the buses were expected to be brought on the roads within the next couple of months, he added.

Responding to a question by Muttahida Qaumi Movement legislator Dilawar Qureshi about other plans for bringing in buses, the provincial minister said that a plan was being prepared to bring in over 8,000 buses with 870 of these coming on roads every three months.

The Lahore model

He said that planning was being done on the pattern of the ‘Lahore model’ but with less government subsidy being paid to the transporter and less fare being charged from the commuters than in the capital of Punjab.

In reply to a question by Pakistan Muslim League-Functional legislator Rafique Banbhan regarding the illegal bus terminals operating in the city limits, the minister said that around 35 to 36 terminals were operating in different parts of Karachi. Similarly, he said, around nine terminals were illegally operating in Hyderabad. All the illegal terminals would be relocated outside the city limits. He said that three major terminals were being set up/rehabilitated/upgraded at the entry points — Hub River Road, the Superhighway and the National Highway — of Karachi.

He said that once these new terminals were operational and all related facilities were provided/available there, then the terminals operating illegally in the city would be shut down so that commuters did not face any hardships. He said the transporters would first be asked through friendly persuasion, but if they did not agree, then they would be shifted with the assistance of traffic police. He said that negotiations with the transporters were also under way so that they could be persuaded to operate shuttle service between the city and the new terminals.

Speaker’s suggestion

Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani was of the opinion that the traffic police ought to be under the transport department to improve its performance and asked the minister to take up the issue with the chief minister. He also suggested the minister should use public transport vehicles occasionally to have first-hand information about their condition after which it would be easier for him to resolve public transport issues.

Responding to a question by MQM legislator Heer Soho about law and order on the outskirts of the city where new terminals were being established/upgraded, the minister agreed with the fact that anti-social elements could choke the entry points of the city if the threat was not neutralised. He claimed that sufficient security arrangements were being planned at these terminals so that such elements could not establish themselves there. Besides, if the need arose, law enforcement agencies could be called in to tackle the elements, he added.

In reply to a question by a PML-F legislator regarding 4,000 CNG buses, the transport minister said the project was announced when the PPP was in the federal government. But later it transpired that the country had been facing CNG shortage and many CNG buses had to be pulled off the road, therefore it was decided to cancel this scheme, he added.

According to a written reply to a question about transporters charging high fares during religious holidays, it was stated that last year 1,169 transporters were caught and their vehicles were booked while the excess amount of Rs3.8 million that they had charged was refunded to the passengers.

Responding to a question by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf legislator Samar Ali Khan about latest update on Karachi Circular Railway, the minister said that many portions of the 43km-long KCR route were under illegal occupation. He said anti-encroachment operations were being carried out on a regular basis and the entire route would soon be cleared. Work on Blue Line, Green Line, Red Line, Yellow Line and Edhi Line was at different levels of progress, he added.

In reply to a question by PPP legislator Kulsoom Chandio about CNG transport charging excess fares, the minister said that separate fares for CNG vehicles had been notified some five years back. He said stern action would be taken if any operator of CNG vehicles was found charging higher fares than had been notified for diesel vehicles.

Published in Dawn, April 19th, 2017