Thiruvananthapuram, First Published Mar 23, 2022, 8:10 PM IST
Thiruvananthapuram: KSRTC will run additional services in the state tomorrow. The KSRTC MD has suggested more services to deal with the Private Bus Strike.
The strike, announced by private bus owners, will begin at midnight today. Transport Minister Antony Raju said the government would face pressure if the rates were increased. The bus fare hike was not discussed in the cabinet meeting held today.
Private bus owners are protesting against the government’s approach to raising fares. The bus owners’ joint strike committee said it would not back down from the indefinite strike in protest of the non-increase in fares.
Ordinary people who are impacted by the rate hike on the one hand. On the other hand, private bus owners are preparing to go on strike in the wake of the crisis. Meanwhile, the government. The minister reiterated today that there would be a rate hike. However, the minister did not elaborate on how to proceed from now on.
The ministry is delaying the bus fare hike as people are turning a blind eye to rising prices and rising fuel prices. The issue was not on the agenda of the cabinet meeting held today. The decision will be extended to the LDF meeting to be convened at the end of March. Auto taxi owners have also informed the government that they will go on strike.
‘Naya paisa not in hand, waited for four and a half months’, bus owners say they will not back down from the strike anymore
Private bus owners strike over bus fare hike Bus Coordination Committee spokesperson T Gopinath said there was no compromise and the strike would go ahead. The bus owners were not interested in a strike that would cause hardship to the common people. However, the bus owners said that they had to go on strike after the government froze the private bus sector.
“The bus strike was announced last November. In subsequent discussions with the Minister of Transport, he assured that the charge would be increased. But after four and a half months it did not increase. Sabarimala Makaravilakku, discussions with students, the Chief Minister should go abroad and come back. There was no benefit in the budget either. At the same time, the government provided Rs 1,000 crore for KSRTC. When the diesel price went up, the government went to court on behalf of KSRTC. The private sector is facing a major crisis as fuel prices are rising day by day. The bus owners said that they could not go ahead and that there was no other option but to increase the charges.
The minimum charge should be Rs
The minimum charge should be Rs 12, the kilometer rate should be increased by Rs 1 to 10 paise and the fare for students should be increased to Rs 6. These are the main demands of the bus owners.
Private bus owners have protested against the non-implementation of the expert committee’s recommendation to waive the Kovid-era vehicle tax. The transport department had planned to increase the minimum fare to Rs 10 in November itself, but no announcement was made. Despite hints that there will be a change considering Ramachandran Nair’s recommendation, the decision on when is delayed. The government was perplexed by the assessment that the increase in bus fares would be a double blow to the common man amid rising prices.
Last Updated Mar 23, 2022, 8:12 PM IST