The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : No hike in student fare, says Minister

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Thursday, Jul 12, 2007
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Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

No hike in student fare, says Minister

Special Correspondent

Talks with bus operators today

To consider proposal during general revision
‘No accepting arbitrary decision of operators’

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: There is no question of the Government favourably considering the private bus operators’ demand for revision of student fares, Transport Minister Mathew T. Thomas told the Assembly on Wednesday.

Replying to a submission by Ramachandran Kadannappalli (Congress-S), the Minister said the Government could consider any such proposal only when there was a general revision in bus fares.

The last hike in bus fares was effected in 2005 and students were now required to pay only roughly 18 per cent of the normal fare.

This was consequent upon the decision taken at the time of the fare revision in 2003 that the students needed to pay only 25 per cent of the pre-revision fares. The same principle was followed when the fares were revised in 2005, he said.

Mr. Thomas said the Government would not accept the arbitrary decision of the bus operators not to allow students to board their buses from July 15. The Government was, however, ready to hear the bus operators. A meeting with bus operators would be held on Thursday, as directed by the Chief Minister, to discuss the issue. Education Minister M.A. Baby would also attend the meeting, he said.

Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan told the House that the Government would not allow anyone to take the law into their own hands and indulge in vandalism at the offices of the bus operators’ association.

Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan told Simon Rodriguez Britto (CPI-M) that efforts were on to prevent leakage of oil and other pollutants from the ship that sunk on the shipping channel of the Kochi port.

The port authorities were trying to break the ship and remove oil and other potential pollutants. The cost for this would be realised from the ship-owning company and taking advantage of the insurance cover that the ship had, he said.

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