RAWALPINDI, April 25: Rickshaw Drivers Revolutionary Union and activists of Shabab-i-Milli on Friday held a protest demonstration against the confiscation of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) kits by traffic police and the district government.

Hundreds of rickshaws, followed by over 250 people, took part in the protest, which started from Committee Chowk on Murree Road at 3:30pm and culminated at Marrir Chowk, where the union leaders and spoke to the participants.

The participants were chanting slogans against what they termed as highhandedness of the district Nazim, Raja Tariq Kiani, and the traffic police.

The participants also threatened that they would set their rickshaws on fire if the authorities concerned did not stop the confiscation of LPG kits. They said a clash with the district government and the traffic police could occur if their demands were not accepted.

The president of Rickshaw Drivers Revolutionary Union, Ayub Khan, said rickshaw owners had spent over Rs8,000 on converting their vehicles from petrol to LPG.

He said the kits installed in the vehicles were safe and no incident occurred as a result of the kits’ installation. He alleged that the district government and police officials had an underhand deal with the owners of compressed natural gas (CNG) filling stations.

He said after confiscation of LPG kits, the authorities wanted the rickshaw drivers to get their vehicles fitted with CNG kits from these filling stations.

He said the police were harassing the drivers and demanding money to avoid seizure of the kits. The action would affect a large number of people and increase unemployment, he added.