KARACHI: Supply of imported wheat from the ports has resumed which had come to a halt for two days in the second week of this month following new axle load restrictions announced by the federal government, importers told Dawn.

Flour millers and wheat importers had claimed that wheat despatch from the ports had been suspended after disputes arose regarding new axle load requirements from the government.

Central Chairman Pakistan Flour Mills Association (PFMA) Badar-ud-din-Kakar wrote a letter to Federal Minister for Communication and Transport Murad Saeed on Oct 14 claiming that transporters are refusing to load wheat due to the axle load restriction for the last two days. But on Tuesday he claimed that the government had withdrawn the requirement and movement of wheat from the port had resumed.

Confusion persists over axle load regulations

Transporters, meanwhile, denied the charge and responded saying they were ready to comply with the new requirements, but it was the flour importers who were asking for trucks to be overloaded beyond the stipulated axle load requirement. Secretary General of the Fleet Operators Association of Pakistan (FOAOP), talking to Dawn on phone, said the axle load requirements have not been withdrawn. “These requirements are mandated by a court order, I have not seen any notification from the government that these have been withdrawn,” he said.

Chairman Cereal Association of Pakistan Muzzamil Chappal said around 20,000-25,000 tonnes of wheat are being dispatched daily from the Karachi Port these day from two vessels carrying 60,000 tonnes each.

He said three more ships of the private sector are scheduled to berth in the next couple of days at the port and each vessel carries 60,000 tonnes each. Chappal had said that around 55-80 tonnes (net weight) was being despatched previously but the government had finally cut the net weight on trawlers to 45 tonnes.

“We do not want to overload our trucks and endanger the life of other road users,” FOAOP says adding that operators do not want to act irresponsibly and damage our national assets and our highway networks.

The association said their members have filed several lawsuits in the Sindh and Islamabad High Courts calling for strict implementation of the axle load regime as well as National Trucking Policy. The federal government, despite making commitments to implement the law, National Highway Safety Ordinance 2000 has been repeatedly relaxing the same to favour commodity importers and producers. The road transport industry is in fact being systematically destroyed.

The association has also appealed to the Pakistan Flour Mills Association Haji Mohammad Yousuf Chaudhry to take back his call for asking the government to overload trucks and follow the law in the letter and spirit.

Published in Dawn, October 29th, 2020