BENGALURU: With the ten-day ultimatum given by the Federation of Karnataka State Private Transport Associations to the state government to fulfil their demand ending on Wednesday, transporters are gearing up the ‘Bengaluru bandh’.
Representatives of all the 32 associations that are part of the federation are meeting on Thursday to decide on the date for the bandh. The bandh will affect lakhs of commuters who depend on private buses, cabs and autos for their commute.
Members of the federation said more than 5 lakh autos, 3 lakh cabs and 50,000 private buses are operating in the state, paying more than Rs 2,000 crore in all in the form of direct taxes and nearly Rs 20,000 crore in the form of indirect taxes while purchasing diesel, vehicle spare parts and tyres among others every year. The federation has been stating that they have lost more than 40% of their revenue after the launch of the Shakti scheme, which has been offering free travel to women across the state in non-premium government buses since June 11.
Speaking to TNIE, Nataraj Sharma, nominated president of the federation, said, “While we are still trying to cope with the huge loss incurred due to the Covid lockdowns, the Shakti scheme has taken away more than 45% of our businesses. Bus owners and cab and auto drivers are burdened with huge debt. We want the government to listen to our problems and compensate for the loss due to the Shakti scheme.”
“We have been waiting patiently for more than a month since our first meeting with Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy on July 24 to provide compensation. Heeding to the promise by the transport minister that all our problems will be resolved, we had put off our call for the Bengaluru bandh on July 27, Sharma said and added that this time there is no question of stepping back.
“All representatives are meeting on Thursday and we will announce the date for the bandh. Our intention is not to put the public into inconvenience, but as the government has not responded to our demands, the bandh is inevitable to convey our suffering to the state government,” he said.