KOCHI: Inter-state luxury buses will remain off the road from Monday as the Inter-state Bus Owners Association-Kerala has called an indefinite strike in protest against the alleged harassment by the Motor Vehicles Department in the wake of the Kallada bus incidents.
As many as 293 inter-state buses and around 90 intra-state buses will stop services as part of the protest.
The inter-state buses plying between Kerala and major cities in the south cater to around 8,000 passengers daily. The strike is expected to affect techies working in metros like Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, who visit their native places during weekends as train services and KSRTC bus services are unable to handle the traffic owing to inadequate services.
“Ever since the Kallada incident, the Motor Vehicles Department has been troubling bus operators. The department is harassing them under the guise of Operation Night Riders - launched to keep a tab on inter-state buses,” said association president Manoj Padikkal.
Nod awaited for passenger redressal forum
“The department is forcefully collecting a fine of Rs 10,000 from bus owners daily. Bus owners have paid Rs 5 crore as fine in the past 70 days,” said Manoj. Though the association had sent two letters to the owner of Kallada bus following the attack on passengers, he has not yet given a written reply.
Meanwhile, the association office-bearers said they had given a proposal to the government to constitute a passenger redressal forum comprising a retired regional transport officer, retired superintendent of police, a senior lawyer from the Kerala High Court and representatives of bus owners association and passengers association.
But the government has not given a nod to the proposal. The association said they are willing to follow the recommendations to be submitted by the Justice Ramachandran Commission, which is studying the fare structure of private buses.