Bengal: Pvt bus operators to observe 3-day strike from May 22 as talks with govt fail

Kolkata, May 20 (PTI) A platform of five private bus operators’ associations in West Bengal on Tuesday said it will go ahead with the three-day strike from May 22, demanding immediate resolution of long-pending issues, after talks with the state government failed to yield any positive results.

Representatives of the five associations - Joint Council of Bus Syndicates, Bengal Bus Syndicate, West Bengal Bus-Mini Bus Owners Association, Minibus Operators Co-ordination Committee and Inter & Intra Region Bus Association - met Transport Secretary Saumitra Mohan "for the last time on Tuesday", but were “unsatisfied” with the government’s response.

The demands of the five associations, which have come together under a unified platform called ‘Besarkari Jatri Paribahan Banchao Committee’ (Save Passenger Transport Committee), include a two-year extension for vehicles older than 15 years, and an end to alleged police excesses over traffic violations.

Tapan Banerjee, the president of Joint Council of Bus Syndicates, told PTI that there was “no breakthrough in today's talks”.

“We are going ahead with the strike. We had made several representations to the government for addressing our long-standing demands, but they have been unresponsive. The private bus sector is in a state of coma in the state after the Covid pandemic... How long can this continue?” he said.

He said only the intervention of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and concrete assurances can salvage the situation.

A senior transport department official said "we will evaluate the situation” and respond.

At present, around 2,500 private buses operate in Kolkata and its surrounding areas, while nearly 38,000 buses ply across the state. PTI SUS RBT