Chowrangi

One of the reasons a third world country is a third world country is the dismal plight of its public transport. Though, most of the vehicles running as public transport across our country not-so-bad, the worst thing is their drivers and conductors.

In Pakistan, the only job, which requires no qualification, no experience, no certificates, no references, no pre-requisites of any kind is the driver/conductor of public transport. Any criminal, who finds himself just out of jail, with no future ahead and no chance of finding any job anywhere, opts to become a driver or conductor, depending upon the level of his criminal status. More bigger the criminal he is, he will become Ustad (’senior most driver’). Petty criminals manage to become conductors(’candacter’) easily.

I have travelled almost through out Pakistan on public transport and found this cadre more or less same everywhere. The characteristics of drivers/conductors are pretty much the same all over the country. They are illeterate, criminals of some kind, liars, low-bred, ill-mannered, un-couthed, rude, un-pleasent, un-principled, coarse, vulgar, grouchy, sadist and greedy.

They are parasites, who fed themselves daily on the blood of poor and middle class people of this country. There seems to be no check and balance over them of any sort. In my living experience, I have never seen any policeman taking action against the high-handedness of drivers/conductors to the commuters. These lousy people only care for their fare and the number of turnaround trips. They don’t give a damn to the plight of commuters, to whom they treat like animals.

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