Andhra Pradesh - Vijayawada   

Protest against bus fare hike

Staff Reporter

This is a ploy to privatise RTC, says CPI leader

VIJAYAWADA: The Left parties on Tuesday organised protest demonstrations against bus fare hike.

The CPI activists burnt an effigy of the State Government at Lenin Centre and raised slogans. CPI city secretary Koraganji Sekhar Babu found fault with the Government's argument that it was forced to revise the fares due to hike in diesel price. Instead of controlling the pace of growth of private vehicles and strengthening the APSRTC, the Government was actually driving commuters towards private vehicles. "All this is a ploy to privatise the APSRTC," he charged.

CPI (M) leaders and activists staged a demonstration in front of Pandit Nehru Bus Station. CPI (M) leader Ch. Babu Rao, addressing meeting, pointed out that the price of diesel was increased three times by the Congress-led UPA Government at the Centre and the same was being shown as a reason for bus fare hike by the Congress Government in the State. He felt that the decreasing occupancy ratio would fall further.

CPI (M) city secretary R. Raghu sought to know what happened to the Government's promise to check the growth of private transport by constituting a committee.

Hike justified

RTC zonal advisory committee chairman Jogi Ramesh on Tuesday justified the Government decision to increase bus fares. Addressing a press conference, Mr. Ramesh said diesel price hikes had forced the authorities to effect hike. Regional Manager M. Seethapathy said the hike would result in an increase of Rs. 1.8 lakhs to Rs. 2 lakhs in the daily revenue of the RTC region.

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