THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Transport Minister Antony Raju was caught in the crosshairs on Sunday after he hinted at the government’s intention to raise the bus concession rate for students conceding the private operators’ demand.
Reacting to his statement, the student organisation of the ruling CPM itself revolted. The Congress’ KSU also said the minister was challenging the students. Realising the political fallout, Raju later in the day said, “If I am convinced of any correction in my statement, I am ready to do it. The government is trying to keep the concession rate as low as possible. We are also considering the proposal to make travel free for students from poor families.”
Earlier in the day, he said the concession rate of Rs 2 is so low that some of the students themselves refuse to collect the change after giving Rs 5 to the conductor. The statement, however, kicked up a controversy. A joint statement by SFI state president V A Vineesh and secretary K M Sachin Dev, MLA, demanded the minister to retract his “immature statement”. KSU state president K M Abhijith said the minister’s statement was a challenge to the students travelling on concession.
Students’ unions flay minister’s statement
The minister’s support on raising the student concession fare came at a time when the bus operators had made plans to announce a fresh date for a strike. The strike call is for the lack of budgetary support for the sector and the delay from the government to announce a fare hike. “The concession rate was last increased to Rs 2 in 2012. During school time, most of the passengers are students.
So, I tend to agree with the bus operators’ concern that student concession rate hurts their profitability, to some extent,” said Raju. He, however, remained non-committal of the new rate and the time it would be implemented. Though the government had agreed in principle to raise the minimum fare four months ago, it has not taken any decision so far.
The main objection seems to be the lack of consensus on increasing student concession. The transport minister mooted the idea of a different fare structure for students based on their family income. However, the students’ unions have raised objections to the classification of students based on financial status. Private bus operators want the student concession rate to be increased because they think raising the general bus fare beyond a limit would further alienate passengers.
They have demanded that the minimum fare should be hiked to `12 and the student concession to Rs 6. The Justice M Ramachandran Commission, tasked with finding ways to address the problems in the sector, has also recommended the concession rate to be fixed at `5. However, the minister said any hike would be made after wider consultation. He had also warned the bus operators of strict action against not allowing students to board the buses.