MULTAN, April 18: Local representatives, civil administration and police are all alive to make president Gen Pervez Musharraf’s rally a success.

Arrangements have been finalized for the president’s public meeting to be held at the recently-constructed Multan Cricket Stadium, the Vehari Road, on Friday (today).

Punjab Chief Secretary Imtiaz Masroor on Thursday reviewed the arrangements. Punjab Governor Lt-Gen Khalid Maqbool (retired) will visit the venue just ahead of the president’s arrival.

Meanwhile, the district police have impounded at least 1,000 public vehicles to carry people from various locations. A number of vehicle owners did not ply their vehicles for fear of crackdown.

Scores of crew of the impounded vehicles on Wednesday night staged a protest rally near the sports complex where the ‘hunted’ vehicles have been parked.

They alleged they had been detained in the sports complex since Monday without provision of meals.

They demanded that rent for their vehicles should be paid for as many days as these had been kept. Some of those claimed they had to pay daily instalments to their lenders who did not accept any excuse.

A police contingent resorted to baton-charge and aerial firing to disperse the protesters. Scores of policemen were reported to be injured in the clash.

Commuters have been facing a great deal of difficulty in moving from one place to another as the bus stands have worn deserted look.

Making the most of it, truckers have got a chance to mint money by carrying commuters from one place to another. They have started operating on time-and-turn basis.

The truck service has been launched for almost all the inter-city routes, including Mianwali, which is about 300km from Multan.

The truckers have been extorting double the fares. A large number of people, coming from Muzaffargarh, have paid Rs30 instead of Rs15, it was learnt.