Visakha Transport Parirakshana Samiti has denounced the gazette notification issued by the Centre authorising the State governments to hike the fee for various services offered by the Transport Department.
In a joint statement, representatives of the CITU, AITUC, AIFTU and INTUC said soon after the notification was issued the Telugu Desam government had hiked the fee for services offered for various vehicles like autorickshaws to heavy vehicles and depriving transport workers of their livelihood. While the steep hike in diesel and petrol prices and cost of spares was already causing heavy burden on transport workers, they were being crippled by the hike in fee for transport services.
They said the samiti has already organised various protests on the issue and has called for State-wide protests on Feb 7. They also warned that the samiti would be forced to go for a State-wide transport bandh, if the Centre and State do not change their stance on the issue.
The main demands of the samiti includes: withdrawal of the gazette notification issued by the Centre and the hike in fee for various services by the State government, reducing the Value Added Tax (VAT) on diesel, provision of parking places and reducing the toll gate charges.
