Cabbies in Jalalabad double fare after rickshaw ban

JALALABAD (Pajhwok): Passengers claim taxi drivers have doubled fare charges in Jalalabad after the governor’s office banned rickshaws in the capital of eastern Nangarhar province.
According to the governor office decision, rickshaws with handle are banned due to rush in the city.
Earlier, people would ride on rickshaws in Surkhrod, Behsud, Rodat, Chaparhar, Pachiragam districts and Jalalabad city.
Zahidullah, a resident of Behsud district, said: “Previously I would give a rickshaw 20 Pakistani rupees to reach the city but now it costs 40 rupees to reach Jalalabad City.”
He said he was a university student and had no income but still he spent 80 rupees daily on the route to university. He demanded alternative service after rickshaws had been banned.
Bilal, a resident on the outskirts of Jalalabad, said: “I go to the city every day for work. I am a daily wager and earn Rs500 a day and from this amount I have to give Rs100 in taxi fare, therefore, so it cannot make ends meet.”
He urged the government to revive the bus service.
Sayed Khesraw, a resident of Surkhrod district, also a university graduate, said he ran a rickshaw because of unemployment.
He said if the provincial government did not lift the ban on rickshaws in Jalalabad, many like him would remain jobless and they might be compelled to join militants. 
Abdul Baqi, 50, who previously met family’s financial needs by running a rickshaw, said his earning stopped with the governor house’s ban.
The now jobless drivers also complained that some of their colleagues continued to ply the city roads because they had links with traffic officers.
One of them, Ibrar, told Pajhwok: “In initial days, we strongly opposed the ban, but now when it has been imposed, it should be applied on all.”
Attaullah Khogyani, the governor’s spokesman, said the decision to ban rickshaws was taken in order to reduce the rush in the city after continued demands of ordinary people, citizens and civil activists.
He said the governor’s house would pay heed to fresh demands of Jalalabad residents.
sa/ma

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