KARACHI: The Sindh government on Tuesday put an immediate ban on parking of oil tank trucks in Shireen Jinnah Colony and ordered that all the trucks must use the facility at the Zulfikarabad Oil Terminal in line with the Supreme Court’s orders.

A meeting of all stakeholders was held in the Sindh Secretariat under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary of Sindh Syed Mumtaz Ali Shah on the direction of Supreme Court regarding Zulfikarabad Oil Terminal.

The meeting was attended by government officials and representatives of the oil tankers’ association.

KPT and other relevant stakeholders also attended the meeting.

The officials said that the Zulfikarabad Terminal was being constructed to park all oil tank trucks to solve the traffic problems of the city.

Truckers asked to use Zulfikarabad Oil Terminal facility

Other stakeholders, includ­ing the Sindh government, have to give funds and the Sindh government alone has given Rs583 million while other stakeholders have to give Rs460m for the project, the meeting participants were told.

The Sindh chief secretary directed the administrator of KMC, the oil marketing companies and representative of tankers’ association to release Rs460m for the terminal project.

The meeting participants decided that from Tuesday not a single oil tank truck will be parked in Shireen Jinnah Colony and police will take action against violators.

The chief secretary said that all shops and workshops in Zulfikarabad Oil Termi­nal would be restored soon.

He directed the KMC administrator to issue the letter of allotment of shops and workshops at Zulfikarabad Terminal within three days and the shopkeepers who had been allotted shops and workshops should start work by depositing the amount.

Mir Shams Shahwani, leader of the tankers association, said that even today more than 600 vehicles were parked at the Zulfikarabad terminal but the necessary facilities were not available there.

Responding to the statement, the chief secretary directed the KMC administrator to build all roads around the terminal and provide necessary facilities at the terminal.

Zulfikarabad Oil Terminal is an important project and one of the priorities of the Sindh government, it was stated.

The chief secretary while seeking details of tankers and oil depots from all the oil companies said that all the oil marketing companies should ensure the implementation of the ticket system of oil tank trucks coming from the terminal to the oil depots in the city.

Published in Dawn, May 19th, 2021