Industrialists and transporters met Majyd Aziz, president of Employers' Federation of Pakistan, and apprised him of severe problems they were suffering from while transporting goods on trucks through some districts of Sindh. They informed that they had to take a longer route through Hyderabad because the four-lane Thatta-Sujawal Bridge, although completed in 2016, was not opened for vehicular movement, so far.
The Thatta-Sujawal Bridge that was originally opened to public in 1967 began to collapse in the year 2014, hence, closed for heavy traffic including passenger buses and goods transport. It connects Karachi with Tando Mohammad Khan, Badin, Mirpurkhas and Tharparkar via Thatta and Sujawal and therefore all heavy traffic travelling to and from these areas is severely affected. The longer route entails added transport cost in time, fuel, and vehicle maintenance, etc.
The transporters further informed that even during construction of the new bridge, no alternative route was built to ease the movement of vehicles but now that the bridge is ready, the delay in allowing vehicle movement is baffling. It seems that the delay is due to the non-availability of a VIP to inaugurate it. Majyd Aziz assured the delegation that he would request Sindh Chief Minister to issue immediate orders to open the bridge for public use since Pakistan is already facing acute shortage of trucks and the growth in production of industrial goods and agricultural produces necessitates fast track transportation on trucks.