KARACHI, March 11: In an unprecedented move, the Sindh transport department has directed the city government to lift the ban on the issuance of route permits for mini-buses.

The ban had been imposed in 1985 in the light of the recommendations of Masooduzzaman Commission which had been set up by the then Sindh chief minister following widespread violence triggered off by a tragic accident.

A college girl, Bushra Zaidi, had been knocked down by a rashly driven mini-bus near Sir Syed Girls College at Nazimabad Chowrangi in that incident which had sparked off serious violence that eventually engulfed almost the entire city.

Though the aim of imposing the ban was to phase out mini-buses, which had been labelled in the national press as ‘yellow devils’ due to their involvement in a number of fatal and other horrible accidents one after the other, the number of the mini-buses having route permits has now soared to over 600. Almost the same is the number of the mini-buses plying in the city without a route permit.

There were only 3,500 registered mini-buses in 1985 when the ban on the issuance of route permits was imposed, sources recalled, adding that the number of these vehicles with route permits had probably increased during 1994 and 2000 when the ban had been lifted for a brief period on the directives of the then governor and chief minister.

In a latest development, the provincial labour and transport department has requested the DCO Karachi to take necessary action viz-a-viz lifting of the ban and posting of a permanent secretary at the District Regional Transport Authority (DRTA).

With reference to a meeting on Feb 22, 2005, which was chaired by MNA Dr Farooq Sattar and attended by transport minister and representatives of transporters, a letter sent to the DCO by the transport department’s deputy secretary said that the transporters’ demands of permanent posting of a DRTA secretary and lifting of the ban had been agreed upon by the chair.

Since both the issues/demands come under the jurisdiction of the city district government, the DCO has been requested by the transport department to take further necessary action in the matter and inform the department accordingly.

Expressing concern over the transport department’s decision, some concerned citizens said that the move would aggravate the situation where traffic congestion on roads had already assumed an alarming level and the number of fatal and non-fatal accidents was on the rise. They maintained that most of the drivers of mini-buses, and even coaches, not only resorted to rash and reckless driving very often, but often indulge in a race with each other.

Recalling an accident in which two students of the Apwa Girls College and a motorcyclist were crushed under the wheels of a rashly-driven vehicle at Karimabad only two years back, they urged the Sindh government to reconsider its decision of lifting the ban. They pointed out that traffic congestion was mainly created by mini-buses and coaches and the situation would persist if more route-permits to such vehicles were issued. They feared that commuters, who had been provided considerable relief through the introduction of large-sized buses under the UTS and other schemes, might suffer a setback if the decision was implemented.

In this regard, they also referred to the Masooduzzaman Commission report which states inter alia: ”To meet the shortage of buses in Karachi, and to replace mini-buses with large-sized buses, it is necessary to motivate private sector to play its due role by providing adequate economical incentives.”

The citizens pointed out that it was in line with the committee’s recommendations that the federal government had been approached by the city government with request to waive customs duty on the import of chassis of large buses and financial institutions were directed to provide credit facilities to the manufacturers willing to provide at least 50 buses for the city.