PANJIM: Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari called on Union Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik at his Delhi residence.
Naik is visiting Delhi for the first time after his horrific accident in Karnataka that saw the tragic loss of his wife who was in the same vehicle as him.
If you enjoyed reading this article, you can help support our journalism by adding OHeraldo as a preferred source.
Naik is attending the Lok Sabha proceedings and several high-ranking dignitaries including Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal RKS Bhadauria and Defence Production Secretary Raj Kumar paid him a courtesy visit at his office.
Gadkari, who has monitored the election related developments of Goa BJP in the past, personally met Naik at his residence to enquire about his health and well-being.
Shripad, who is also the North Goa MP had also made arrangements for Sudip Tamhankar, the President of All Goa Private Bus Owners Association (AGPBOA) President to meet Gadkari.
It may be recalled that Sudip and his association members wanted to meet Gadkari for a while now and had already met the Goa Director of Transport where they had put forward their grievances and demands.
Sudip, who submitted a memorandum to Gadkari, apprised the Union Minister of the suffering of private bus owners in the State, who were hit by the COVID-19 lockdown and other issues.
Sudip said Gadkari gave him a patient hearing in the presence of Naik.
Incidentally, AGPBOA has been opposing the Centre’ policy for scrapping 15-year-old vehicles and Gadkari had just introduced the vehicle-scrappage policy in Parliament, which had incentives for owners of such vehicles.
Amongst the other demands, AGPBOA has called for the reduction of the price in diesel, which has affected their profit margins at a time when business has yet to reach pre-COVID figures. AGPBOA has also been opposing incentives offered by the Kadamba Bus Transport Corporation (KTCL) on the grounds that it doesn’t create an even playing field for private bus owners.
