RAHIM YAR KHAN: Dozens of residents of Khanbela and adjoining areas held a protest on Sunday against closure of buses for students of the Government Girls Degree College Liaqatpur.

The protesters, mostly parents of the girl students, including Talib Hussain Arian, Mazhar Ali, Jam Sikandar, said they were residents of Khanbela, Janpur, Nala Musani, Nizamwala, Joong Bilawal, Chowk Fareed, Talbaani and Ameenabad.

They said hundreds of girl students studying in different classes at the girls college were deprived of the transport facility. They said the college principal had promised four times in the past that the college bus service would start but to no avail.

They said last time when they had raised the demand, the college principal had promised that the bus service would start after the winter vacations from Jan 17 but she did not fulfill her promise.

The protesters added that the administration had parked the buses in the college while hundreds of girls of far-flung areas were facing difficulties as they had to use public transport or their families had to pick and drop them on motorcycles.

The protesters said if their demand was not met, they would block the national highway in protest.

Deputy Director Colleges Saira Bano did not reply to the repeated calls made to her to get her version. However, Deputy Commissioner Mehtab Wasim Azhar told Dawn he would resolve the issue and provide the girls students of the areas mentioned above with the transport facility.

Published in Dawn, January 24th, 2022