Capital witnesses another difficult day

ISLAMABAD—The Federal Capital Sunday witnessed another hard day as most people were unable to buy food or petrol, with most shops, fuel stations were still closed.
Weekly Bazaars which are the main attraction for the residents of Islamabad to buy daily use items were also not open, adding to hardships for the people.
Most of the petrol pumps and CNG stations also remained shut, leading to shortage of petroleum products and creating trouble for the motorists.
However, CNG and petrol stations in Super Market and Karachi Company opened temporarily on Sunday to provide fuel to customers in long queues.
“We don’t have any fuel and with its shortage people were unable or unwilling to move and are limited to their houses,” said Ahmad Ali, a resident of Islamabad.
The movement of people on roads and in streets was scant and some shops and medical stores were open while restaurants in many parts of the city gave a deserted look.
Only a few public transport vehicles were operating while a number of taxis were plying on all city roads and their drivers were taking advantage of the situation and minting money by charging higher fares.
A taxi driver told APP he was depressed as CNG is not available and he has to run his taxi on petrol. “I think this is the reason we were asking a bit higher fare from passengers,” he added.
Public transport buses coming from other cities were not reaching bus stations rather droping passengers few miles from the stations.
A female passenger coming from Lahore with her three children said “she had to get down three miles from Karachi Company Bus Station, creating difficulties for her family.” The bus drivers should leave the commuters at proper place - Bus Station- so that the they could catch a taxi or public vehicle to reach their destinations, she added.
All commercial and industrial activities came to a halt in the country following the martyrdom of Pakistan People’s Party Chairperson Benazir Bhutto in a tragic incident of firing and bomb blast in Rawalpindi on Dec 27.
Almost all transporters avoided bringing public vehicles on roads as a precautionary measure after suffering heavy damages when hundreds of motor vehicles were torched by angry protestors in different cities.
Trade centres, shopping malls, wholesale markets in different cities and retail outlets remained closed.
Big avenues, highways and roads of the country wore a deserted look in the absence of traffic.—APP