DERA GHAZI KHAN, Sept 3: Commuters are facing troubles on Dera Ghazi Khan roads as transporters pen them up in vehicles and overcharge them without any fear, Dawn has learnt.

While transporters are busy looting the commuters through overloading and overcharging, traffic police have its share in the ‘booty’ as transporters claim they give “monthly amounts” to senior police officials.

For example, wagon owners charge a Rs70 fare for DG Khan to Multan against the approved Rs60 fare. The similar situation is on other routes like DG Khan to Rajanpur, Rakni, Layyah, Muzaffargarh, Kotaddu, Taunsa, Lahore, Karachi and Quetta.

“Travelling from DG Khan to Rajanpur through a wagon is so troublesome that one has to think twice,” said Nazim Husain of Block 8. He said the driver stopped the wagon wherever he saw any commuter.

A wagon-owner seeking anonymity told Dawn the traffic police officials got Rs2,200 from each wagon owner. He said G.M. Akbar, a clerk with the Police Department, collected “extortion money” from the transporters on behalf of the traffic superintendent of police. According to a wagon owner, more than 700 wagons ply on the DG Khan routes. In this way, Rs1.5 million is extorted in terms of monthly amounts. In return, the department gives a licence to transporters to overcharge and overload at their will.

DG Khan Traffic Police have increased the number of circles from 12 to 13 to enhance their “income”. Dawn learnt from sources that the inspector in charge of each circle was bound to submit Rs30,000 to senior police officials. The total monthly amounts collected from all circles stand at Rs390,000.

In its extortion spree, the police have not spared the devotees of Hazrat Sakhi Sarwar, a saint whose shrine is in the district.

Former superintendent of police Chaudhry Sharif Zafar banned challan of any wagons on Sakhi Sarwar route. Now heavy fines are imposed on the vehicles coming from Balochistan, including traffic bound for Sakhi Sarwar, if they refuse to grease the palms of traffic sergeants.

SP Traffic Rana Masood Raza said that it was fault of passengers for allowing the wagon owners to overload the vehicle. He said it made the travelling troublesome when 22 passengers were accommodated in place of 16. He added overloading was a Punjab-wide phenomenon and the government was trying to overcome the issue. He said he was quite unaware of fare increase, adding that he would pay attention to this problem.

He also said that if any police official was found involved in extorting money from wagon owners, he would take strict action against him. He claimed police had challaned a record number of vehicles in his tenure. He said 1,400 vehicles were confiscated due to violation of traffic rules in Dera Ghazi Khan in a few weeks.