HYDERABAD: Transport operators in the state parked over 200 buses near the RTA office in Hyderabad on Monday morning, demanding waiver of MV Tax for the April-June quarter and extension of deadline to surrender vehicles for ‘non use’.
President of Telangana State Cabs & Bus Operators Syed Nizamuddin said, “We requested Principal Secretary Sunil Sharma for the tax waiver as we are in no state to pay it. The transport industry has completely crumbled due to the pandemic. Our major clients were daily commuters of the IT sector, and tourists, both of whom are absent now.”
He said the operators had gone to the RTA office to surrender their vehicles and not to agitate.
“However, secretary Sharma reprimanded us for staging a protest during the pandemic, and police was sent to round us up. We are now at Goshamahal Police station. We were promised a conversation with the secretary, however, no communication has been initiated,” he said.
Nizamuddin said many other states such as Punjab, Gujarat, Karnataka, Odisha, Rajasthan and Kerala had exempted operators from MV Tax, and slammed the State government for not doing the same.
He said Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao should consider their demands on humanitarian grounds.