KARACHI, Oct 4: An effective strike was observed by the transport operators on Tuesday in protest against the frequent raise in prices of petroleum. The strike was observed on the call given by a major group of transport operators Karachi Transport Ittehad and the call was supported by its opponent group National Transport Ittehad.

Almost all minibuses, buses and coaches remained off the road in the morning causing immense problems to commuters. However, taxis, yellow cabs, and rickshaws remained plying on road as they were exempted from taking part in the strike by the KTI.

Buses, minibuses, and coaches were off the road in the morning and some of them appeared on roads by the afternoon. People were seen standing at bus stops in different localities.

Attendance in offices and factories remained thin due to the effective strike of the transport operators. The people, who were compelled to travel, had to hire taxis, yellow cabs, and rickshaws on excessive fares.

The buses under the umbrella of Urban Transport Scheme as well as Metro buses were seen on roads.

Despite the absence of commercial vehicles, traffic congestions were witnessed at different places, including I.I. Chundrigar Road, Sarwar Shaheed Road, Zaibunnisa Street, S.M. Taufeeq Road in Liaquatabad, Hassan Square, NIPA intersection, Shaharah-i-Liaquat and parts of M.A. Jinnah Road. At most of these places, traffic police officials were not present and the civilians were seen clearing the traffic mess.

Schools, colleges and universities were open but the attendance was thin. Many school van operators had informed parents of schoolchildren that they would not come to pick children on Tuesday.

However, markets and shops remained open in all parts of the city.

The law and order situation in the whole city was satisfactory, and no report of violence, usually a hallmark of strike day, was received from any part of the city.

Public mood was against oil marketing companies and the OCAC. Commuters generally held the government responsible for increase in petroleum prices.

Terming the strike successful, KTI chief Irshad Bokhari said that the KTI had exempted small vehicles from joining the strike. He said: “We did not want to disturb commuters, but we wanted to voice our concerns and send a strong message to Islamabad against injustice by the Oil Companies’ Advisory Committee”.

He said that the KTI had succeeded in sending its message to the power corridors but warned that if the government did not disband the advisory committee, the transporters would be compelled to go on an indefinite strike.

Mr Bokhari demanded reversal of petrol price to Rs37 and diesel to Rs24 per litre.

NTI chief Saleem Khan Bangash also demanded that the government should disband advisory committee and reduce the prices of petroleum products.

The NTI had earlier announced a two-day strike but it called off the strike for the second day (i.e. Wednesday) in respect of the holy month of Ramazan.