Bus operators in Bengal announces three days strike due to hike in diesel price
Kolkata,
Jan
21:
Ahead
of
the
state
assembly
polls
the
bus
operators
of
the
state
called
for
a
three
days
strike
in
West
Bengal
starting
from
January
28.
The
organisation
called
for
a
strike
on
multiple
demands,
including
the
imposition
of
GST
on
diesel
and
tax
cuts.
Diesel
price
was
hiked
by
25
paise
per
liter
in
Kolkata
on
Tuesday.
Doubts have already been raised about whether the city's private buses will be seen on the roads on the last three days of January.
Bus organizations have claimed that it is not possible to run the bus due to rising fuel costs amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The bus owners' association sat in a meeting on Tuesday. The organization has demanded a new rent restructuring. It was there that a three-day bus strike was decided at the end of January.
Notably, former Transport Minister Madan Mitra has alleged that the BJP is behind the bus strike.
Announcing the plan to go on a strike, Joint Council of Bus Syndicates general secretary Tapan Banerjee demanded that GST be levied on diesel in place of various taxes imposed by the Centre and the states.
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He also demanded that the West Bengal government take a positive decision on bus fare hike in view of the rising operating costs and lower passenger revenue owing to Covid pandemic, failing which he said that the bus operators will go on a three-day strike across the state from January 28.