Goods transporters on strike against new Axle Load Control Regime

KARACHI: The goods transporters strike has been continue resulting in suspension of transportation of goods from Karachi to upcountry, ARY News reported on Tuesday.

The transporters have parked their trucks at truck stations and various places in the city to protest against the new Axle Load Control regime on Motorways and National Highways in the country.

Ministry of Communications has recently enforced the new Axle Load Control regime in the country to control travelling of overloaded vehicles which lead to fatal accidents besides damaging the road network.

The goods transporters leaders are demanding restoration of the axle load law as per the National Highway Safety Ordinance 2000 and warned that their strike will continue till revival of that law.

The transporters said that the government not offering attention to the problems of goods transport business.

Various trade bodies including the Karachi Chamber of Commerce had earlier urged the communication ministry to put the Axle Load Regime on hold as it was not agreed upon by all the stakeholders including the goods transporters and representatives of the business and industrial community.

Moreover, Pakistan Ships’ Agents Association (PSSA) had also criticized the implementation of the new axle load regime saying it would do more damage than good and result in 80 percent increase in the transportation costs.

The decision had already started to cause congestion not only at the ports but the roads of Karachi also suffering as heavy traffic could be seen during the day time on the roads since the same volume of cargo now need about 180 trucks instead of 100 trucks.