KANO CITY — Youths suspected to be tricycle riders have clashed with police operatives at Gyadi-Gyadi court road in Kano city, Kano State.
They were on strike to resist the N100 daily tax enforced by the state government through the Kano State Roads and Traffic Agency (KAROTA) among other issues.
The riders said the action becomes necessary to avert what they described as extortion in the name of tax and other fines.
The police had fired shots in the air to disperse the youth who were trying to enforce a strike action declared for the tricycle operators in the state.
The youths, in their bid to enforce the strike order, resorted to attacking their colleagues for allegedly violating the order.
Some riders have had their vehicles’ windshields smashed and passengers asked to alight from the vehicles.
The youth blocked the road and burnt tyres but police intervention has restored normalcy in the area.
Passengers in the Kano metropolis were stranded Monday morning following the commencement of the indefinite strike.
Most streets in the city have been deserted as only private cars, buses, taxis, motorcycles, and trucks are plying the roads.
Daily Trust reports that most middle-class commuters going to their workplaces and students going to school have resorted to trekking to reach their destinations.
This is the result of the absence of public mass transit service in the state.
The State Government had, on Sunday, however, unveiled plans to float a transportation company with 200 buses before the end of 2021.
Meanwhile, The Kano State Government on Sunday announced plans to float 200 buses Mass Transit Service in the metropolitan area of the state.
The move, according to the state’s Commissioner for Information, Muhammad Garba, is part of efforts to create an integrated transport system for Kano as an emerging megacity.
Garba, who announced this in a statement, also said the state Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje has directed the engagement of private investors and the Kano State Transport Authority (KASTA) for the immediate supply of 100 buses to commence the first phase of the programme before the end of 2021.
He said the measure is aimed at reducing the hardship of commuters in the absence of a strong private transport system as well as to check the excesses of tricycle operators in the state.
The Commissioner said, “the initiative is part of the state government’s plan to reform the transport system and management of transport infrastructure to meet its teeming population demand.”
“In recognizing the need to improve the transport sector, “the state government is envisioned to provide a strategic planning platform to address transportation needs of the metropolis”, Garba added.
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