LARKANA: All is set to launch the Peoples Bus Service in Larkana district with a fleet of 16 buses that arrived here on Saturday.

Larkana Commissioner Ghanwar Ali Leghari in a communication with the provincial transport and mass transit secretary had a cursory eye on the transport facilities in the district and proposed three routes for the service, sources said.

These routes would effectively connect all talukas of the district. The routes are -- Larkana to Ratodero via Dhamrah and Banguldero; Larkana to Garhi Khuda Bakhsh Bhutto via Dodai, Chuharpur, Mahotta, Kehar and Naudero; and Larkana to Mohenjo Daro via Otha Chowk, Bakrani, Arija and Airport.

It is learnt that the commissioner had on August 5 forwarded a concept note and proposal to the transport secretary for approval.

Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, who holds the portfolio of foreign minister, had initially intended to inaugurate the bus service as he had made such promise to the people of his constituency on June 21. However, due to his preoccupations including local government elections and foreign visits, he could not make himself available for the proposed ceremony.

On Friday (August 5), PPP chairman’s political secretary Jamil Soomro, along with the deputy commissioner and notables representing different strata of society, took a round by the bus for a trial ride within the city.

The objective for launching this project is to provide a comfortable, cost-effective and prompt transport service to around 1.56 million people of Larkana district. The city of Larkana is the fourth most populous in Sindh. Around 10,000 to 12,000 people from different towns and villages commute between different places within the district every day but they do not have any such systemic transport facility available to them.

The existing transport system even in Larkana city is poor while the city continues to expand in all directions.

The three routes of the new bus service not only cover many cities and towns, but also offer a comfortable and prompt transport facility to local as well as foreign tourists intending to visit the world heritage site of Mohenjo Daro.

The service would prove to be the best road communication connectivity for its beneficiaries.

According to the sources, this service is very likely to be started soon after the Ashura.

Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2022