LAHORE: Businessmen have asked the government to promptly fulfill the legitimate demands of goods’ transporters and take effective security measures to ensure smooth business operations in the face of scores of challenges.
Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Senior Vice President Zafar Mahmood Chaudhry expressed these views while talking to a joint delegation of Pakistan Goods Transport Association and Pakistan Traders and Manufacturers Alliance on Saturday.
The delegation called for uniform application of axle load limits across Pakistan, returning overweight vehicles instead of slapping fines and withdrawing the penalties imposed by the Motorway Police despite no violation of traffic laws.
They demanded immediate rollback of the increase in toll tax and advocated for drivers’ safety in remote regions of Sindh by evicting dacoits from those areas.
They proposed effective measures to curb rising highway robberies and replacement of the Excise Load Management System with National Logistics Company (NLC), Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) or Motorway Police.
Delegation members recommended the installation of big weighing equipment at exit points of every city and the enactment of legislation for prohibiting unauthorised checking by Customs officials.
They urged immediate reduction in electricity tariffs, termination of unfair contracts with independent power producers (IPPs) and halt to the practice of facilitating the elite through imposing taxes on traders. In that context, they announced, a protest movement would commence from July 25.
LCCI SVP Zafar Mahmood Chaudhry expressed concern that not only the transport sector but the entire business community had been affected by the current circumstances, hence their demands must be met and their protection should be ensured. He demanded swift consultation with all stakeholders.
Chaudhry highlighted that 130 IPPs were operational with a production capacity of 25,000 megawatts and last year they were given Rs2,145 billion.
He described as unjustified the burden of taxes on the business community to feed the elite, Pakistan Railways, Pakistan International Airlines, Pakistan Steel Mills and state-owned power distribution companies.
