LAHORE: National Highways and Motorway Police (NH and MP) Deputy Inspector General Syed Fareed Ali has said that the rules and regulations have been made more stringent after the Kaler Kahar accident while violation of the rules by public service vehicles is being strictly prevented.
He expressed these views during a meeting with business community here at Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) where the Chamber’s President Kashif Anwar, Senior Vice President Zafar Mehmood Chaudhary and representatives of Pakistan Goods Transport were also present. Problems of transporters, overloading, warehousing and other issues came under discussion.
Syed Fareed Ali said that the objective of Highways and Motorway Police is to ensure the implementation of the rules. He said that the warehouses would be built on the Motorway soon, adding that at present the vehicles take exit in the next city and unload their goods.
He said that 80 percent of the trucks are small and there are also very old model trucks, produc
tion of which has been stopped, but they are still plying roads. He said that it is a good suggestion to set the specifications for the vehicle body. The DIG said that Punjab has a good vehicle fitness system. The Motorway Police has signed an MoU with the Punjab government to share vehicle fitness data. He said that due to heavy traffic at Thokar and Ravi, extra staff has been deployed.
LCCI President Kashif Anwar said that to purchase new trucks, loans should be given on easy instalments and on 2 to 3 percent markup. He said that due to violation of the rules and regulations, accidents, deaths and financial loss occur. He said that the rate of fines should be increased instead of registering FIRs.
He said that National Highways and Motorway Police is an ideal institution. In September 2020, the Lahore Chamber had signed a memorandum of understanding with the NH and MP.
The LCCI President said the NH and MP had started strict implementation of the Highway Safety Ordinance 2000 from November 15, 2023, foll
owing the orders of the High Court, which is good omen because the rules and regulations were being violated. He said that the business community is facing some difficulties, citing that reducing the axle load from 90 tons to 60 tons would increase the cost of doing business. This law should be implemented in a phased manner i.e. it should be reduced from 90 tons to 80 tons and further reduced to 70 tons after a few months.
He said that the weight of cargo or loader vehicles in Pakistan is more than the international standard because of structural modification, due to which there is a big difference in body weight and cargo load. There is a need to think about this.
He said that the system of weigh stations should be taken over by the Motorway Police again and these should be established at the entry points of each district so that there is no fear of offloading of extra goods.
He said that loader vehicles from Sindh enter Punjab without any hindrance violating the axle load, but later strict checking is s
tarted so that a uniform system of axle load should be implemented in the whole of Pakistan.