Has the 'Peoples' Bus Service fallen prey to the people's representatives?
Why would management of a provincial public transport project be given to a federal company responsible for producing telecommunications equipment?
The airconditioning was off and even by Karachi standards it was a particularly hot February afternoon. At the office of the CEO of the Sindh Mass Transit Authority (SMTA), tempers were flaring up. Brows were furrowed, thinly veiled insults were being traded, and beads of sweat were likely running down the back of the many necks in the room.
On one side sat Sohaib Shafique, GM-South of the National Radio Transmission Company (NRTC) and on the other side was Zubair Chann, the CEO of the Sindh Mass Transit Authority (SMTA). As tensions rose, so did the voices until Chann and Shafique found themselves in a full-blown shouting match. Others present in the room had to intervene and stop the altercation from getting physical.
But wait a second. What would propel the CEO of a provincial mass transit authority to almost come to blows with the chairman of a federally owned company responsible for the manufacturing of telecommunication equipment in Pakistan?
The answer: Over 250 buses in Karachi that have the potential to help solve the massive public transport problems that exist in the city of more than 15 million people.
Subscribe to Continue Reading
The rest of this article is available exclusively to subscribers.
The writer is a member of Pakistan Today's Islamabad bureau. He can be reached at [email protected].
View all articles →Comments
No comments yet. Be the first to join the discussion!
