Private bus operators in Kolkata call for a three-day strike in March; Check the dates here
Kolkata Bus Strike: The general secretary of the West Bengal Bus and Minibus Owners Association has said that public transport facilities will be withdrawn between March 18 and 20.
Calcutta: Private bus operators across West Bengal declared a three-day suspension of services in mid-March. The motive behind this pause is to advocate for a longer service life than the current 15-year limit for cessation of commercial diesel shipments. Here you will find details about the date and the relevant routes.
Bus strike in Kolkata: Affected dates
West Bengal Bus and Minibus Owners Association general secretary Pradip Narayan Bose said public transport facilities in the state would be shut down between March 18 and 20.
The operators demanded that the service life of stage cars, which will exceed the 15-year mark by 2024, be immediately extended for another two years.
“We have made a fair demand as our buses were largely off the road due to the COVID situation and lockdown for a larger phase of 2020-2022, and both employees and owners were going through severe financial crises,” said Tapan Bandyopadhyay of the The Bus Syndicate’s Joint Council announced this on Wednesday.
Bose claimed that representatives of the bus companies went to the transport department office during the day after the notice, but neither the minister nor any other senior official was present to hear their views.
“We have given them until March 15 to consider our fair demands, which are crucial for the revival of the private intensive care transport sector, especially post-COVID,” he said.
Latest ultimatum from West Bengal Bus and Minibus Owners Association
Bose said almost the entire fleet of around 5,500 private buses and minibuses plying in Kolkata and its surrounding districts and Howrah will be off the road within a year, starting from July 2024, if the two-year extension is not given. In that case, about five million transport workers would be unemployed, he said. The Joint Council of Bus Syndicate official said: “Even two to three years ago, there were 7,500 to 8,000 buses and 1,500 minibuses plying in the city.”
“We do not have the resources to cough up Rs 32-35 lakh to buy new vehicles with Bharat Stage 6 emission norms,” Bandyopadhyay said.
A transport official said the 15-year term for old vehicles is the Supreme Court’s call to minimize pollution, and while the ministry is sympathetic to the bus operators, it cannot extend the term on its own.
“We had provided them financial assistance during the time of COVID-19 and lockdown to tide over the crisis,” the official added.
(With input from agencies)