RAWALPINDI, March 25: Big trouble awaits the commuters of Rawalpindi on Tuesday because a mega project is being launched on the day for their comfort.
Dawn has learnt that the political administration of the city has requisitioned a large number of public transport vehicles to bring its constituents to Liaquat Bagh where President Pervez Musharraf would address after inaugurating work on Leh Expressway.
According to a senior police official, nearly 850 vehicles, including wagons and vans, were impounded on Sunday. Majority of these vehicles have been shifted to the Police Lines.
Officials of various public departments, including Regional Transport Authority (RTA), have been directed to utilise their ‘miscellaneous fund’ to get as many public transport vehicles reserved as possible.
Akhlaq Ahmed, Wagons Transport Union general secretary, told Dawn on Sunday that the district administration had so far booked 400 Hiace vans, adding that more vehicles would be reserved before Tuesday’s public gathering at Liaquat Bagh.
“The district administration has impounded a number of our vehicles, but we have convinced the government that the union would voluntarily provide transport for the event,” Mr Akhlaq said.
“We have also conveyed to them that general passengers would suffer a lot in case majority of the vehicles remained off the road,” he added.
Due to the absence of alternative bus service in the twin cities, the number of Hiace vans is not sufficient to cater to the needs of the commuters, and with majority of the available vehicles reserved for official duty, the daily commuters would face a lot of inconvenience.
Taking advantage of the commuters’ plight, the taxi drivers have increased their fare and are charging people at their own will.
The problem is expected to aggravate further on Monday as a large number of vehicles had been engaged by the government for bringing party workers from far-flung towns like Murree, Kotli Sattian, Kahuta, Taxila and Gujar Khan.
A source in the RTA said majority of the transporters had parked their vehicles at their homes to avoid being hired by the district administration. He said each Hiace van would be booked for Rs2,000 per day.
It has been learnt that the officials of public departments were spending miscellaneous funds lavishly on arrangements to welcome President Musharraf.
Meanwhile, Rawalpindi police continued to arrest political activists and workers of opposition parties on Sunday to prevent them from participating in a demonstration on Monday that had been called to express solidarity with lawyers and the suspended chief justice of Pakistan.
The police even rounded up dozens of people who had no apparent link with any political organisation.
A group of labourers, who were returning from Soan bus terminal after seeing off their families, were arrested by the Airport police on Saturday night. Two of the labourers spent around 12 hours in the lockup while three of their colleagues were released on Sunday night after the intervention of a senior police official.
“We had to show our performance to our senior officers by increasing the arrest toll,” a police official said.
Meanwhile, comprehensive security arrangements have been made to maintain law and order in Rawalpindi during the opposition parties’ protest call.
Thousands of police personnel equipped with riot gear will be deployed to ensure peace on Monday.
Police officers of various circles had been given lists of political workers and activists with orders to detain them.