Kolkata: As many as 8,500 private buses will stay off roads for three consecutive days from October 29, with some relaxation for three hours in the morning and four hours in the evening for students and office-goers, as the Joint Council of Bus Syndicate has decided to organise a token protest against the skyrocketing price of diesel.
Tapan Banerjee, General Secretary of the Joint Council of Bus Syndicate (JCBS), refused to call it a bandh, saying that a complete shutdown in the operation of private buses would have a major impact on the people in the state. Hence, they are conducting a token protest against the Centre's failure to check the rise in fuel prices.
The private buses will ply on city roads and also in suburbs from 8 to 11 am in the morning and from 3-7 pm in the afternoon from October 29-31, so that students and office-goers do not face any problems during that period. The private buses include the minibuses in the city, Banerjee said.
The owners of the private buses belonging to JCBS will take part in a rally in the city on November 1 to protest against the ever increasing price of diesel and also to draw the attention of the Centre.
The next course of action will be decided in a meeting which will be held following the rally, which will originate from Lenin Sarani and end at Dorina Crossing.
"We are unable to operate the buses due to the excessive cost of diesel. We do not want bandh as it would affect the people. We are pushed against the wall this time and have thus decided to organise a rally where bus owners will participate bare-chested. This symbolises the deplorable condition of the bus owners. We demand a hike in the fare of the buses, as otherwise it would be extremely difficult for us to ply the vehicles," Banerjee said.
He also mentioned that their organisation has drawn the attention of the state government in this regard. They are ready to hold meeting with the state Transport department to resolve the issue. It may be mentioned here that bus fares were hiked just a few months ago, following the intervention of the state government.