With the closure of CNG stations on Wednesday due to gas shortage in the country, routine life in Karachi came almost to a standstill and ever-bustling main roads of the city wore a deserted look.
Millions of vehicles in the city have converted to gas following the skyrocketing prices of petrol and diesel.
The majority of the public transport vehicles remained off the roads in the wake of the shut down of CNG stations for 24 hours.
On Wednesday morning, long queues of cars, buses and coaches were witnessed waiting at CNG stations for hours. The commuters using public transport were the worst-affected due to the unavailability of buses and minibuses, which had to be taken off the roads. The closure of CNG stations also affected commercial activities.
The majority of public transport vehicles, which originally come with diesel engines off the assembly line, having been converted to CNG to save cost and the reliability on gas as a relatively cheaper fuel resource has increased manifold over the past few years.
Therefore, in the event of the CNG stations’ closure, the owners of rickshaws, taxis and other rented means of transport began charging exorbitantly from the citizens, hence, causing more problems for the inflation-hit public.
Hundreds of commuters were left stranded waiting for transport at major bus stands including the Baloch Colony Bridge, the Hassan Square, Saddar, the Cannt Station, the FTC flyover, Bahadurabad, Malir Halt and Quaidabad.
The major commercial centres of the city including Saddar, the MA Jinnah Road, the Jama Cloth Market and the Boulton Market wore a deserted look. Attendance at workplaces including government and private offices also remained thin due to the unavailability of transport.
Talking to Pakistan Today, transporters said that they are facing financial problems following the weekly closure of CNG stations.
The Karachi Transport Ittehad president said transporters should be consulted by the authorities before the decision to shut CNG stations is made.
“The CNG stations should be closed on holidays and at night so as to facilitate the majority of people, who rely on public transport,” he added.