This is in reference to a news item in an English daily regarding denial of free travelling to students by LTC in Lahore. The whole report revolves around the wishful thinking of some student leaders or their supporters. In this competitive world, nothing could be given free unless subsidised by the government. How it is expected that the LTC should provide free transport when it has to compete with other modes of transport like motorcycle rickshaws and wagons.
Probably free transport slogan given by Z A Bhutto 40 years ago is still haunting the minds of some socialists. The anarchy created by this ill-conceived slogan resulting in the loss of lives of students, drivers and torching of buses by mislead students is still reverberating in my mind. We should not advocate such ideas which tend to create bad blood and anarchy. We should wholeheartedly support the initiative of the Punjab government. To provide decent public transport through AC buses, free or subsidised transport for students should be provided by educational institutions and not transporters.
QASIM IQBAL KHAN
Lahore
