Sindh govt to compensate transporters, expand targeted subsidies for public relief, says Murad Ali Shah
\n KARACHI:
\nSindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on Sunday assured the public that transport fares in the province would not increase despite rising costs and that all transporters have agreed to support the government.
\n\u201cToday, we met with transport owners regarding fares. Two days ago, following federal directives, we decided that fares for public transport users in Sindh would not be increased,\u201d Shah said during a press conference in Karachi.
\nOn Thursday, the government further increased petrol prices by Rs137 per litre to a record-high of Rs458.4. It was the second major increase in the fuel prices in less than a month. However, on Friday night, PM Shehbaz announced a Rs80 per litre reduction in the petroleum levy on petrol.
\nLater on Friday, the Sindh government announced that in light of recent surging petrol prices and an ongoing energy crisis, a monthly subsidy of Rs2,000 would be provided to registered motorcyclists across the province. Public transport and goods transport operators would also receive monthly subsidies ranging from Rs70,000 to Rs100,000.
\nShah, in today\u2019s presser, said that meetings had been held with transport operators across the province, and the Sindh government is aware of the public\u2019s difficulties regarding fares.
\n\u201cWe feel for every underprivileged person in the province. Transporters will not raise fares for passengers. We have also assured them that they will not suffer losses. Each bus will receive a subsidy of one hundred thousand rupees,\u201d he said.
\nThe chief minister further explained that subsidies would be provided according to the roads in the province.
\nSupporting the decision, a transport owner added, \u201cWe have decided to support the Sindh government. All transporters will cooperate with the chief minister and the Sindh government.\u201d
\nPresident Intercity Transport Malik Shabbar Khan also confirmed that, given the current situation, they had decided to support the government, saying passengers would be charged the same fares as before.
\nShah said that no deductions would be made from the National Finance Commission (NFC) fund and that the federal government had already spent Rs129billion under the current circumstances.
\nHe said that the federal government had asked provinces to contribute and that Sindh would provide Rs14billion to the federation within a month.
\nShah added that 470 government transport vehicles operate across the province and that Sindh would bear an additional expenditure of three to four billion rupees on transport.
\nRegarding school transport, the chief minister said, \u201cInstructions have been issued to the Education Department to ensure that fares for school vans are not increased.\u201d
\nHe also noted ongoing discussions with protestors and the federal government about smart lockdown measures and opening hours for commercial centres, and that \u201cdiscussions with traders are ongoing\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sindh govt to compensate transporters, expand targeted subsidies for public relief, says Murad Ali Shah KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on Sunday assured the public that transport fares in the province would not increase despite rising costs and that all transporters have agreed to support the government. \u201cToday, we met with transport owners […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":540229,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-540207","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-national"},"yoast_head":"\n