Tommorrow's transport strike called off in Bengal

Kolkata, Jan 24 (UNI) Tomorrow's proposed transport strike in West Bengal was called off today following a meeting between transport minister Subhas Chakraborty and the Joint Council of Bus and Taxi syndicates.

Announcing the private transport operaters' decision to withdraw their strike following the meeting, Mr Chakraborty said he requested them not to resort to any agitational path till an alternative arrangement was made. He had also promised to look into their demand for immediate reduction of the recently hiked rate of transport insurance premium.

Incidentally, all the private operaters in the state, including the West Bengal Contract Carriage and Operaters Association, had called the one-day private transport operaters strike tomorrow to protest the insurance company's unilateral decision to hike the rate of vehicles premium by more than 200 per cent making the transport business in West Bengal a totally 'non-viable' proposition.

Meanwhile, today's decision to call off the strike has brought relief to the people across the state. Though the state government had promised to run its services with maximum capacity tomorrow, the absence of private transport, including buses, mini buses, taxis and auto rickshaws, from the road would surely have had an effect on the normal service.

UNI