Team Herald
PANJIM: Several bus operators held a day-long dharna outside the office of the Directorate of Transport on Monday accusing the department of failing to heed to various demands including amending the recently-introduced bus fare hike.
Bus operators, under the banner All Goa Private Bus Owners Association (AGPBOA), also slammed the government for deceiving them during the elections by assuring to fulfill their demands.
“When the 2017 Assembly elections were approaching, (Chief Minister) Manohar Parrikar held a meeting of bus operators with Union Minister Nitin Gadkari during which it was agreed to fulfill all the demands. The BJP-led government came back to power but our demands have not been met since then,” Sudip Tamhankar of AGPBOA said.
“We have been insisting on installation of clocks at various bus stands that would keep a check of irregularities and mess created on departure timings. We also want amendment to the bus fare hike in such a way that it benefits every bus operator. So also, payment under the government’s fuel subsidy and insurance scheme has stopped due to which the EMIs in different banks are now overdue. The banks are issuing notices to the bus operators,” he said, as he reeled out a list of the pending unfulfilled demands.
Tamhankar said that if the demands are not met within this week, the bus operators will hold a week-long half day protest in front of Transport Department next week.
