150 Varan buses to be auctioned in Islamabad, Rawalpindi
Pakistan Times National News Desk

RAWALPINDI: Following the decision of the management of the Varan transport company to windup the well disciplined and well established company, nearly 150 buses will be sold through public auction, advertisements in this regards have also appeared in Friday’s newspaper.

The company had stopped the plying of the buses ten days back following a row with the local administration and other political elements responsible for the destruction and burning of the passenger buses near Faizabad following an accident in which a motorcyclist was killed under the wheels of the Varan bus.

The management alleged that police supported the persons responsible for burning of the buses which caused a damage of nearly two crores rupees.

Significantly the officials of the local administration including the nazim of Rawalpindi kept a meaningful sielence and did not make any comment when thousands of commuters between Rawalpoindi and Islamabad and also from different localities suffered the hardships.

The people of Rawalpindi lamented that the Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Sheikh Rashid Ahmad a prominent leader and an MNA from Rawalpindi without whose consent nothing moves in the capital did not use his good offices. His slight intervention could help in sorting out the dispute.

Having disappointed from the indifferent attitude of the local administration the Varan management finally decided to close the transport company and left the people at the mercy of the wagon drivers who want to become wealthy within days and make every possible effort to stop white colored people to travel between the twin city.

The company has already discontinued the services of thousands of people attached with the company and decided to put the fleet of 150 buses to auction.

The company had secured crores of rupees as loan for the purchase of the buses from the Askari Bank. The management said their main purpose of running the buses was to provide decent traveling to the commuters.

The local administration secretly gave permission to private wagon and bus owners but their conductors are not willing to entertain passengers directly for Islamabad or on return to Rawalpindi.

The traffic police which could handle the situation and check the wagon drivers from the insulting attitude is also willfully keeping away. There are charges gthast most of the wagons operating on this route belonged to police officials.

Fillers are given in the press that the local administration will entertain fresh transporters but no body knows how long, and under the present circumstance will the new transporters be prepared to make such a big investment less they face the same fate of the Varan.●