Private buses, autorickshaws, and taxis are likely to stay off the roads in Bengaluru on July 27 in protest against the Congress-led Karnataka government’s Shakti scheme which allows free travel for women in the public transport system.
Over 20 organisations representing private bus operators, tourist operators, autorickshaw and taxi drivers have decided to observe a strike to press the chief minister Siddaramaiah government to fulfill their demands.
The Federation of Karnataka State Private Transport Associations said private bus operators have suffered a lot after the government introduced the Shakti scheme allowing free travel for women. Autorickshaw and taxi drivers have sought compensation, while private bus owners have demanded the implementation of the Shakti scheme in private buses and reimbursement for women’s tickets by the state government.
Auto drivers and owners’ unions have also called for a ban on illegal bike taxis and want to limit aggregator commissions to 5 per cent of the total fare.
The decision for the strike came after private operators held a meeting last week and set a one-week deadline for the government to fulfill their demands. The unions are seeking a monthly compensation subsidy of Rs 10,000 for auto drivers facing financial losses due to the Shakti scheme. They also propose a loan facility of up to Rs 2 lakh at low-interest rates to support the drivers, according to a The Hindu report
However, after the meeting, no action was taken.
Unions have said that despite private sector employing around 20 lakh people and contributes Rs 2,000 crore in taxes annually, the government has ended up neglecting the self-employed lower-middle-class people like auto and taxi drivers due to the Shakti scheme. “Many of them are not able to support their families or pay vehicle and house rent,” president of the Karnataka State Travel Operators’ Association, Radhakrishna Holla, was quoted as saying to the publisher.
Launched on June 11, the Shakti scheme allows women domiciled in Karnataka to travel for free on all non-premium government buses within the state. The scheme has been successful, with a total of 22.65 crore women using it until July 19, incurring a cost of Rs 538.9 crore.
One of the five poll guarantees of the Congress government in Karnataka, the BJP has slammed the ‘Shakti’ scheme stating the transport corporations in the state will have to be shut down in four months as there is no budgetary support for scheme.
Comments
0 comment