KARACHI: The All Pakistan Goods Transport Owners Association (APGTOA) has announced a wheel jam strike across the country in two days in protest of the government’s non-acceptance of their demands.
The decision to go on strike was taken at a press conference in Karachi on Friday, where General Secretary Owais Chaudhry said that the government’s implementation of the axle load law at the port is appreciated, but the government should ensure the implementation of the axle load law on the national highways as well.
He said that the implementation of axle load should be ensured by the provincial governments and the respective government stakeholders of the national highways should make their way stations operational while the national highways should stop overloaded vehicles every day.
Chaudhry said that the association has already parked 5000 vehicles in protest at Kathor to end the overload and that the delivery of bulk cargo has been stopped at a limited level across the country.
He said that due to lack of axle load law, national highways are destroyed and accidents occur, and that transporters spend a lot of capital due to import of spare parts due to overloading.
Chaudhry said that according to a survey, 75 billion rupees are spent annually on road structures damaged by overloading on highways, and that 120 tons of goods are loaded on a 53-ton vehicle, which directly benefits the mill owners.
The General Secretary said that even in a war-torn country like Afghanistan, load-axle rules are fully implemented, and that goods delivered to Afghanistan border by one vehicle from Pakistan are transported by 3 vehicles.
The wheel jam strike is likely to have a significant impact on the country’s economy, as it will disrupt the transportation of goods and services. It is also likely to cause inconvenience to the public, as many people rely on trucks for transportation.
