If you are planning to travel to other districts or states on April 1 by private bus or a tourist cab, it is better to wait a while.
The Tamil Nadu Omni Bus Owners Association and the Chennai Tourist Taxi Owners Association will be going on an indefinite strike along with the All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) to protest against the monthly increase in diesel price and a proposed steep hike in third party insurance premium.
According to N.Srinivasan, joint secretary of Chennai Tourist Taxi Owners Association, the Central Government is planning a steep hike in the third party insurance premium. “There will be a Rs.8,000 increase in the premium for small cars and for big buses there will be an average increase of Rs.28,000. This is very high and it cannot be passed on to the commuters,” said Mr.Srinivasan.
Besides, the monthly increase in diesel price has also left the tourist cab and Omni bus operators in a fix. “We cannot pass this too to the commuters. It will be ideal if the government increases the prices on a quarterly or half yearly basis,” said Srinivasan.
As part of the strike nearly 75 lakh trucks, 40 lakh buses and 25 lakh tourist cabs will remain off the roads from April 1 across the country. In Tamil Nadu over one lakh tourist cabs and 7,000 buses and staff buses will take part in the strike. In Chennai over 25,000 cabs are expected to remain off the roads.
“We came to know that there was an internal policy decision to increase the insurance premium from April 1. We will be abiding by AIMTC’s decision. The government is discussing the issue, we hope there is no major hike. As of now it is an indefinite strike,” said Mr. Srinivasan.