Chandigarh, Aug 9 (PTI) Private bus operators in Punjab were on strike on Tuesday against the alleged failure of the AAP government to fulfil their demands, including waiver of tax for the COVID-19 pandemic period.
The bus and minibus operators under the banner of Punjab Motor Union also staged ‘dharnas’ at many places like Amritsar, Patiala, Sunam, Phagwara and Ajnala. The protesters carried black flags and raised slogans against the state government.
With private buses off the roads, commuters faced a lot of inconvenience.
At a protest in Patiala, Tejpal Singh, a bus operator, said that private bus operators had been demanding that the state government waive tax till December 2021 as they had suffered financially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The private bus operators also said that the ongoing free bus service to women in the state-owned buses had also hit their businesses. They said the state government should allow free bus service to women only on Saturday and Sunday in a week.
“Because of free bus service to women, our business has been affected badly,” said a bus operator in Jalandhar, adding that the state government should compensate them.
Protesters also said that they had been demanding a hike in bus fares in the wake of an increase in diesel rates.
They were also demanding that the bus stand fee must be abolished.
The private bus operators said that they had already apprised the state government of their demands, but no action had been taken yet in this regard.
There are around 2,200 private buses in the state. PTI CHS VSD RT RT
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.