After its repeated negotiations with the State government about the oft-debated fare hike, six bus owner associations have declared a three-day bus strike from June 25. When contacted, Tapan Banerjee, joint secretary of Joint Council of Bus Syndicate, told The Hindu , “We have already informed the State government about the necessity of fare hike and also written to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in early June that if the government did not take a positive step in this matter we would have to decide our own measures.” The strike will take about 45,000 buses off the roads across the State.
Asked about the reason, Mr. Banerjee accused the State government of ‘forcing’ them to take such a measure. “We know the strike will cause much difficulty to daily commuters and we feel sorry for them. But our situation is as such that there was no other way.”
The ongoing standoff between the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government and bus owners has turned bitter chiefly due to three reasons. The bus owners point out with the fare not being increased as per the rising price of diesel they are suffering heavy losses.
They say with the profit taking a nosedive, it has become difficult for them to pay salaries to drivers and conductors. “The increasing cost of maintenance has also made it difficult for us to provide uninterrupted service,” said Mr. Banerjee. Last time, the fare was increased in November, 2012.
Though Transport Minister Madan Mitra said he had asked the bus owner organisations for a meeting on Tuesday at 3 p.m., Mr. Banerjee said, “We have not received any such invitation.” Mr. Mitra admitted that the reason for increasing diesel price pointed out by the bus owners was ‘justified’, but alleged that ‘the Centre, not the Chief Minister was hiking the diesel price’.
