LAHORE – Thousands of intra-city commuters reeled with traveling hardships after all the buses running on the city routes were taken off the roads and their operation was suspended for an indefinite period by Daewoo Express Bus Service after the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) demolished the company’s main workshop near Kalma Chowk along Ferozepur Road on Tuesday.
Though the inter-city buses remained unaffected and Daewoo Express Bus Service announced to continue inter-city bus operation, suspension of the intra-city bus service for an indefinite period in the city troubled the passengers.
According to a Daewoo Express Bus Service official more than ten thousands commuters have been disturbed. Bushra Batul, a regular Daewoo bus passenger, said that the traveling facility was already scanty due to a small number of buses on various routes and the suspension of the Daewoo bus service had put the commuters in turmoil. “I stayed for more than two hours to catch a bus at Main Boulevard of Gulberg as Deawoo bus service remained unavailable throughout the day,” she added.
Zeshan Baksh, another passenger standing at Ferozepur road, said that people had been deprived of the comfortable bus service. “While we were given hope that 800 buses will come on city roads soon to provide better commuting facilities, private companies were winding up their bus service business,” he lamented.
Daewoo Lahore terminal Assistant Manager Waseem Ahmed said that unless the workshop building was reconstructed, their operations would remain suspended. He termed the action unlawful and said that not a single notice was issued by LDA to demolish the workshop building. He said that if the company had to pack up its business due to highhandedness of the government department, around 7000 staffers would be jobless.
The Daewoo official said that the South Korean company, Sammi Daewoo Pakistan had established the workshop more than four years ago for the maintenance of its inter-city and intra-city buses over two plots, 96-A and 96-A, measuring four-kanal and 13-marlas and one-kanal and six-marlas respectively in the Garden Block of Garden Town. He said the core objective of the workshop was to ensure a well maintained fleet of buses and technically trained staff.
However, he did not explain why the building was constructed against the construction plan and why the company did not pay commercialization fees.
An LDA spokesman said that LDA started issuing notices to the company in 2006. He said the plots were sealed several times but the company broke the seal each time. He said that action was taken according to law.
