With no government help forthcoming for private bus operators, including in Friday’s State Budget, the Kerala State Private Bus Operators’ Federation held its State committee meeting at Thrissur on Saturday to chalk out a course of action, including agitations, if necessary.
General secretary Lawrence Babu said there were no measures to help out the 12,000-odd bus operators in the Budget. Even worse, the government had imposed a 50% increase in green tax on old buses, while showering monetary help on the debt-ridden Kerala State Road Transport Corporation. The bus operators withdrew their strike four months ago on the government’s assurance that their demands would be looked into. But little had happened in this direction, he said.
Eighty-six of the total 112 members of the federation’s executive committee were present at Saturday’s meeting. The federation would discuss the matter with other bus operator bodies and decide on agitation in the coming week, Mr. Lawrence said.
The federation and the All Kerala Private Bus Operators’ Association had been critical of the “raw deal” meted out to the private bus sector in the past few years. Its long-pending demands included lessening of road and fuel tax and extension of interest-free loan to retrofit CNG kit in buses. The retrofitting costs around ₹5 lakh per bus.
