With the state government refusing to increase bus and taxi fares, transport operators on Wednesday threatened to go on strike. A meeting was held during the day between Transport Minister Ranjit Kundu and senior transport department officials on the one hand and bus and taxi operators on the other in the minister's Writers' Buildings chamber. "We have told them that we cannot go in for a fare hike right now. The state government has borne part of the burden of the petro-product hike by announcing a diesel subsidy. The operators, too, will have to bear some of the burden. They will not have to close shop if they do so," Kundu said after the meeting. However, the bus operators claimed that it was due to political compulsions that the state government was refusing to increase fares. "We are going to meet on Thursday and take a decision. But the fares have to be increased; otherwise we will opt for a bigger agitation," Bengal Bus Syndicate President Swarnakamal Saha warned after the meeting with the minister.

Kundu pointed out at the meeting that the state government had already announced a Rs 1 per litre diesel subsidy, which would reduced the burden on bus and taxi owners. Saha, however, said that the price of diesel had been increased on four occasions by a total of Rs.6.72 since August 2009. So, even after receiving the recently announced subsidy of Rs.1 per litre from the state government, bus operators would still have to bear a burden of Rs.5.72, he contended. Thus, the Rs 1 per litre subsidy was simply not enough for transport operators and it was not feasible for them to ply their buses and minibuses in the wake of the diesel price hikes, Saha said. The Bengal Bus Syndicate would discuss the outcome of the meeting with the transport minister on Thursday and might decide to call a strike, he added. Bengal Taxi Association General Secretary Bimal Guha said that transport minister did not accept the proposal to increase taxi fares by Rs 6 on the present fare structure. The Bengal Taxi Association would hold a meeting on Thursday to decide on the next course of action, which might be a strike.

 Courtesy & From : yahoo news beta