GUJRANWALA, April 15: At least 90 per cent public transport vehicles in the district were impounded on Monday for carrying people to President Gen Pervez Musharraf’s public meeting at Jinnah Stadium on Wednesday (April 17).

Senior officers of the Regional Transport Authority (RTA), district government and police were seen seizing the registration papers of public transport vehicles at the pickets set up on almost all intersections of the district.

Commuters, specially women and children, had to wait for the transport at various stops on GT road for hours in heat. Later, most of them reached their destination by tractor-trollies, animal skin laden trucks, motorcycle rickshaws and tongas after paying Rs25 to 30 per passenger for the distance of 15 kilometres.

Sources said that Nazimeen and councillors of all union councils in the district had been directed to bring people from their respective constituencies to Jinnah Stadium. All government employees, specially teachers, have been directed to ensure their presence at the stadium on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the district administration and the tehsil city council completed arrangements for the public meeting.

Tehsil City Nazim Babu Javed Ahmad visited the stadium on Wednesday and expressed satisfaction over the arrangements.

CONTRACTORS: The district Contractors Welfare Association took out a protest procession against the district government for not clearing their bills despite completion of various projects.

They gathered in the compound of district council and held a protest meeting.

The speakers claimed that the district government had not been clearing their bills for the last one year when the new system of local government was introduced.

They said they were in financial trouble and further delay in payment of their bills would create more problems for them.

They claimed that the district coordinating officer was not clearing their bills. They demanded his immediate transfer besides clearing their pending bills.