Transport services were largely affected in Kolkata and across the State on Monday as more than 27,000 private buses stayed off the roads demanding a fare hike.
The Joint Council of Bus Syndicate (JCBS) had on Friday called an indefinite bus strike beginning September 17, in response to Mamata Banerjee-led State Government’s dogged resistance to fare hike proposals.
West Bengal witnessed its last bus fare revision in July 2010. According to Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) sources, diesel prices shot up by more than 34 per cent (nearly Rs 13 a litre) since February, 2010.
“Operators are hurt by increasing operating costs following a hike in diesel price. But, the State Government has remained firm on its decision of not allowing a fare hike,” Tapan Banerjee, Joint Secretary of the operators’ syndicate, said. Banerjee, meanwhile, urged the Transport Minister to come up with a better solution in lieu of fare hike immediately.
“We have submitted details of our increased operating cost to the State Government. But, the Government has not considered them so far,” Banerjee said.
While the State-run transport corporations receive yearly aid of Rs 600 crore, the private operators are left with no option but a fare hike, some of the operators claimed.
State Adamant
According to sources, hardly 10 per cent of the 30,000-odd private buses were plying on the city roads thereby affecting the entire transport system.
State Transport Minister, Madan Mitra, however, claimed that if bus operators were not capable of running services without a fare hike, then their permits will be recalled by the transport department.
Three transport strikes demanding similar increases in fares were called-off since July with the State Transport Minister assuring a “viable solution” to cope with increasing fuel prices.
Proposed Taxi Strike
Adding to commuters’ woes, the leading taxi operators’ association, Bengal Taxi Association (BTA), is planning to go for a 72-hour taxi strike from September 20, demanding a 45 per cent increase in basic fares.
“We want the basic fare to go up by Rs 32 from the current Rs 22 and an overall increase in taxi fare across all stages,” Bimal Guha, general secretary of BTA, said.