MANSEHRA: Drivers of hundreds of taxicabs on Tuesday blocked Abbottabad Road to all sorts of traffic, demanding the immediate restoration of compressed natural gas (CNG) supply to their vehicles.
“The CNG supply has remained suspended in Mansehra and the rest of Hazara division for over a week, depriving our families of even meals. If the supply is not restored, we will block the Karakoram Highway to all sorts of traffic for an indefinite period,” a charged driver told his protesting colleagues on Abbottabad Road here.
The drivers parked their vehicles on Abbottabad Road, blocking it for over an hour, and the artery remained closed even after the protest ended.The protesters, also including motorists and drivers of private transport vehicles, raised slogans in support of their demands and against the government, which, according to them, was following such policies under the garb of austerity measures that deprived them of their daily wages.
“The CNG station owners and workers, while quoting the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Company, have been saying for the past several days that the supply would be resumed today or tomorrow, but to no avail,” one of the protesting drivers said.
He added that if the supply had been suspended due to an explosion or subversive activity, then why had it not been restored to Mansehra and the rest of Hazara when CNG stations in other parts of the province had resumed operations.The protesters later dispersed after holding talks with Inspector Traffic Anis Khan.Meanwhile, an SNGPL official, when approached, said that CNG supply to most parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had been suspended after an explosion in Waziristan earlier this month.
