MAO Students

LAHORE:November 24:The MAO College, Lahore, students allegedly continue harassing public transport operators even after the new CNG busses in town went on a partial strike to protest the students ‘hooliganism’.

It was expected that the college administration would take matters seriously and realize that the whole city had to suffer because of a few students. However, the college administration seems to have not taken the issue seriously. The new busses recently brought to the city - and very eloquently inaugurated by the Punjab chief minister - have not yet resumed their services from 7:00 am till 9:00 and 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm. This partial strike was announced after the transport owners, Foton, took up the case of MAO students beating up the buss crew and damaging the buss after they refused free travel to all students. LTC chairman Khawaja Ahmed Hassaan tried his level best to convince the transport owners to reconsider their decision of partial strike and assured prompt and strict action, including police involvement. The transport company’s top brass, however, did not take their decision back and maintained that, until they saw a visible change in the practices of the students on their routes, they would not call off the partial strike.

The college students are still free to behave the way they want in front of the college gate right after the college hours to come to an end. The role of the college administration is absent in taming the matters as the students virtually block the main road every day, standing right in the middle of the road and stop almost every buss or wagon that comes along.

The buss crew cannot refuse whatever the students demand: there should is no limit to the number of students willing to travel by public transport vehicles. In case, buss or wagon crew refuses or even objects to any of these demands they are taken to task.

There have been instances in the past when public transport crew was seriously injured after they showed ‘defied’ the students demands.

Veteran Transport Owner Arshad Khan Niazi also confirmed the fact and said that he had had all sorts of problems on this route due to the MAO College students. He said that the college route and the Diyal Singh route were the most troublesome areas for all transporters. He encouraged the college administration to play a role in curtailing the activity. However, he criticized the Foton for its partial strike, saying that the transport company should have negotiated and tried to solve the matter.

MAO College spokesperson said that the personnel causing all the problems were not bonafide students of the college and were in fact people defiling the name of the college by posing as the students of the institution. He said that the particular buss stop in front of the college infamous for the activity was not only used by MAO college students.The news.